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Idiopathic Endolymphatic Hydrops, is the summery of the pathological findings in the inner ear of Meniere's disease sufferers. Most clinicians are considering it as the main part of Meniere's disease causes of the clinical picture.
The anatomy of the peripheral part of the auditory system called ear includes 3 parts: the external ear (ends in the tympanic membrane), middle ear (inner part of the tympanic membrane, the 3 ossicles, and the space around them called the tympanic cavity), and the inner ear (chochlea, the 3 semicircular canals). For more details see the article about the anatomy of the ear.
The "Idiopathic Endolymphatic Hydrops" is found in the inner ear of patients with Meniere's disease symptoms, and is part of the structure of their cochlea.
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Asbestos is a common hazard in ship wrecking which is commonly performed without adequate controls in Bangladesh, India, and other developing countries.
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Bell Photography)
Asbestos Background
Asbestos is a set of several naturally occurring minerals that are used in a wide range of industrial and commercial applications, including building materials and vehicle brakes. Airborne asbestos settles in the lungs and can cause serious lung diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma years after initial exposure. Asbestos is still commonly used in numerous industries throughout the developing world in construction materials, automotive friction products, and insulation.
While asbestos is banned in 52 countries and is easily replaced by safer substitutes, it continues to be widely used in developing countries including China, which is the largest consumer of asbestos. Over 85% of asbestos production is used to manufacture products in Asia and Eastern Europe, with asbestos cement products accounting for the greatest use of the material. Top users of asbestos today include:
• China
• Russia
• India
• Kazakhstan
• Brazil
Health Hazards of Asbestos
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos in the workplace. Asbestos is responsible for approximately half of the deaths from occupational cancers. Approximately 90,000 people per year die from asbestos related cancers. Reducing worker exposure to respirable asbestos fibers would have a dramatic effect in reducing several types of life-threatening diseases, including lung cancer.
Even if the mining of asbestos and the production of asbestos-containing products were completely eliminated, occupational and environmental exposures would continue into the future due asbestos in products that continue to be used. Existing asbestos-containing building materials including insulation, roofing, and flooring create significant exposure risks when damaged or disturbed during renovations or building demolition.
The Global Ban on Asbestos
In order to minimize harmful exposures and prevent asbestos related disease throughout the developing world, OK International supports the need for an international ban on the mining and use of asbestos worldwide. While some countries including the U.S. have national laws and programs to restrict the use of asbestos, some products including brake linings continue to be used.
Asbestos Resources |
Stroke Study: Can Gait Training and Brain Stimulation Improve Walking?
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Researcher Sangeetha Madhavan, PT, PhD, from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) will reportedly investigate whether a blend of brain stimulation and gait training can help improve a patient’s ability to walk following stroke. The research, the university notes, is made possible thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Development.
A news release from the university states that Madhavan, assistant professor of physical therapy, director of UIC’s Brain Plasticity Lab, and her coworkers assess how the brain changes in response to stroke and how to tap into the brain’s potential to help in a functional recovery. According to Madhavan, scientists often approach rehabilitation with a “bottom-up” approach, first training muscles and re-teaching walking, hoping the brain will then relearn how to control those functions.
The release designates Madhavan’s approach as “top-down,” dynamically stimulating the brain to make it more responsive to the therapy the patient will receive. During her research, Madhavan will use a technique known as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), designed to pass a very low level of current through the motor area in the brain that controls the legs.
UIC states that the study will enroll patients aged 50 years and older who have had a stroke and who will receive gait training on a treadmill. The treatment group, researchers say, will receive tDCS prior to gait training. A combination of electrical stimulation and motor training of the ankle will then be administered. The control group, the release says, will receive only gait training three times a week for 4 weeks.
Researchers will evaluate the participants at the end of 4 weeks and again, 3 months later. The participants’ walking speed and other clinical and quality-of-life measures will also be evaluated.
Additionally, the researchers report that they will also investigate the physiological function of the cerebral cortex to confirm whether brain plasticity changed following training. To accomplish this, Madhavan notes they use noninvasive tools, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, comparing the excitability of the affected and unaffected areas of the brain.
Post-stroke, Madhavan explains, an imbalance exists in cortical excitability, with areas of the brain where the lesion is being less active. “We predict that activity in these areas will increase after the brain stimulation-walking intervention, and that the balance in symmetry is restored. This balance in cortical excitability is necessary for functional recovery.”
Madhavan adds that as patients following stroke vary in their response to therapy, the transcranial magnetic stimulation technique offers “a way to understand why one individual changes differently from another.”
[Photo Credit: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin/UIC Photo Services]
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1. 1. How to Write a Memo From The Owl at Purdue
2. 2. Audience and Purpose Part I Memos have a twofold purpose: they bring attention to problems and they solve problems. They accomplish their goals by informing the reader about new information like policy changes, price increases, or by when they connect the purpose of the writer with the interests and needs of the reader.
3. 3. Audience and Purpose Part II Choose the audience of the memo wisely. Ensure that all of the people that the memo is addressed to need to read the memo. If it is an issue involving only one person, do not send the memo to the entire office. Also, be certain that material is not too sensitive to put in a memo; sometimes the best forms of communication are face-to-face interaction or a phone call. Memos are most effectively used when sent to a small to moderate amount of people to communicate company or job objectives.
4. 4. Parts of a Memo Heading Segment The heading segment follows this general format: TO: (readers' names and job titles) FROM: (your name and job title) DATE: (complete and current date) SUBJECT: (what the memo is about, highlighted in some way) Make sure you address the reader by his or her correct name and job title. You might call the company president "Maxi" on the golf course or in an informal note, but "Rita Maxwell, President" would be more appropriate for a formal memo. Be specific and concise in your subject line. For example, "Clothes" as a subject line could mean anything from a dress code update to a production issue. Instead use something like, "Fall Clothes Line Promotion."
6. 6. Parts of a Memo Context The context is the event, circumstance, or background of the problem you are solving. You may use a paragraph or a few sentences to establish the background and state the problem. Oftentimes it is sufficient to use the opening of a sentence to completely explain the context, such as, "Through market research and analysis..." Include only what your reader needs, but be sure it is clear.
7. 7. Parts of a Memo Task Segment I One essential portion of a memo is the task statement where you should describe what you are doing to help solve the problem. If the action was requested, your task may be indicated by a sentence opening like, "You asked that I look at...."
8. 8. Parts of a Memo Task Segment II If you want to explain your intentions, you might say, "To determine the best method of promoting the new fall line, I will...." Include only as much information as is needed by the decision- makers in the context, but be convincing that a real problem exists. Do no ramble on with insignificant details. If you are having trouble putting the task into words, consider whether you have clarified the situation. You may need to do more planning before you're ready to write your memo. Make sure your purpose-statement forecast divides your subject into the most important topics that the decision-maker needs.
11. 11. Parts of a Memo Closing Segment After the reader has absorbed all of your information, you want to close with a courteous ending that states what action you want your reader to take. Make sure you consider how the reader will benefit from the desired actions and how you can make those actions easier. For example, you might say, "I will be glad to discuss this recommendation with you during our Tuesday trip to the spa and follow through on any decisions you make."
14. 14. Memo Format Part III For easy reading, put important points or details into lists rather than paragraphs when possible. This will draw the readers' attention to the section and help the audience remember the information better. Using lists will help you be concise when writing a memo.
15. 15. Memo Format Part IV The segments of the memo should be allocated in the following manner: Header: 1/8 of the memo Opening, Context and Task: 1/4 of the memo Summary, Discussion Segment: 1/2 of the memo Closing Segment, Necessary Attachments: 1/8 of the memo This is a suggested distribution of the material to make writing memos easier. Not all memos will be the same and the structure can change as you see necessary. Different organizations may have different formatting procedures, so be flexible in adapting your writing skills.
16. 16. Sample Memo Part I TO: Kelly Anderson, Marketing Executive FROM: Jonathon Fitzgerald, Market Research Assistant DATE: June 14, 2007 SUBJECT: Fall Clothes Line Promotion Through market research and analysis, it has been discovered that the proposed advertising media for the new fall lines need to be reprioritized and changed. Findings from focus groups and surveys have made it apparent that we need to update our advertising efforts to align them with the styles and trends of young adults today. No longer are young adults interested in sitcoms as they watch reality televisions shows. Also, it is has become increasingly important to use the internet as a tool to communicate with our target audience to show our dominance in the clothing industry
17. 17. Sample Memo Part II Internet Advertising XYZ Company needs to focus advertising on internet sites that appeal to young people. According to surveys, 72% of our target market uses the internet for five hours or more per week. The following list shows in order of popularity the most frequented sites: Google Facebook Myspace EBay iTunes Shifting our efforts from our other media sources such as radio and magazine to these popular internet sites will more effectively promote our product sales. Young adults are spending more and more time on the internet downloading music, communicating and researching for homework and less and less time reading paper magazines and listening to the radio. As the trend for cultural icons to go digital, so must our marketing plans. |
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come together and form one mass or whole
dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of (a statement or motive); call into question
offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging
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fond of or causing heated arguments:
concise and forcefully expressive
make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense
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not self-indulgent, esp. when eating and drinking
loud and harsh;
severe or strict in manner, attitude, or appearance:
stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action
a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy
concise and exact use of words in writing or speech
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Meaning of Citizenship
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Essay: Journal Article, The Meanings of Citizenship
Kerber is discussing the constant evolution of citizenship. During the article she highlights four main points. She discusses Attentive & Multinational Citizenship, Braided Citizenship, Borders & Immigrants and Postnational Citizenship. My goal is to provide an inept assessment and my thoughts and understanding in regards to Kerber’s article.
Kerber begins her first point by discussing the attentiveness meaning of citizenship. She briefly describes the last great period of attentiveness during the 1930’s & the Post Cold War. In stable times citizenship is thought to be a permanent thing, and now has become fluid, unsteady and loose. National citizenship is slowly fading as multinational citizenship is becoming more common. But there are remaining problems with this destabilized citizenship. After numerous law changes, many found that citizenship has become more and more segregated at times. After the American Revolution, modern citizenship had been created for a new political order. There were three different ways to be given citizenship. The first common-law of the land: If birth was on U.S. soil, you were a rightful citizen. Second was right of blood. If a father & mother were legal Head 2
citizens of the U.S., and had a child that was born on foreign soil, the child would inherit the right of U.S. citizenship due to blood association. Last, was Naturalization; it was a legal process that grants an immigrant’s citizenship to the U.S. In other countries around the world the ideas of citizenship have similar meanings, but are earned and given in different ways. It’s unique the United States still honors jus soli, whereas in other countries citizenship is not given, I am shocked to find it’s earned. Our forefathers left few hints to what they meant by citizenship. The Constitution says each citizen will be entitled...
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Calculus/Integration techniques/Recognizing Derivatives and the Substitution Rule
< Calculus | Integration techniques
Integration techniques/Recognizing Derivatives and the Substitution Rule
Recognizing Derivatives and Reversing Derivative RulesEdit
For example, since
we can conclude that
Similarly, since we know is its own derivative,
we can conclude that
or, a little more usefully,
Integration by SubstitutionEdit
Very rarely will we encounter a question where they ask us
1v. Evaluate or
is. We usually get
2iii. Evaluate
The objective of Integration by substitution is to substitute the integrand from an expression with variable x and the right side of the integral to an expression with variable u where and the right side of the integral , where . How? By identifying a function and its derivative that makes up a part of the overall equation.
The general gist of Integration by Substitution is to transform the integral so that instead of referencing x, it references the function u. We can show how this method works by abstracting each step using math. In math, we can write down what we want to do (write the steps of Integration by Substitution in math) by writing
Given ,
(1) ie
(2) ie
(3) ie
(4) ie Now equate with
(5) ie
(6) ie
(7) ie We have achieved our desired result
• Calculate
• Calculate which is and make sure the final expression h(u) does not have x in it
• Calculate
• Calculate
In summary, Integration by Substitution tells us the following
Substitution rule for definite integrals
Assume u is differentiable with continuous derivative and that f is continuous on the range of u. Suppose and . Then
Integrating with the derivative presentEdit
For example, in the integral
we see that is the derivative of . Letting
we have
or, in order to apply it to the integral,
With this we may write
For instance, to treat the integral
we may let . Then
and so
we have
Synthesizing TermsEdit
By using the substitution u = x2 + 1, we obtain du = 2x dx. However, notice that the constant 2 does not show up in the expression in the integrand. This is where this extra step applies. Notice that
and remember to calculate the new bounds for this integral. The lower limit for this integral was x = 0 but is now u = 02 + 1 = 1 and the upper limit was x = 2 but is now u = 22 + 1 = 5.
Proof of the substitution ruleEdit
We will now prove the substitution rule for definite integrals. Let H be an anti derivative of h so
Suppose we have a differentiable function, such that , and numbers and derived from some given numbers, and .
By the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, we have
Next we define a function by the rule
Then by the Chain rule F is differentiable with derivative
But by the definition of this equals
which is the substitution rule for definite integrals.
Evaluate the following using a suitable substitution.
External linksEdit |
If Sapir and Whorf were right (in the strongest sense), the USA, the UK, Canada and many other nations where English is the main language would not be real democracies. Of course candidates could be elected, but since the English language lacks a handy expression like the German term “kandidieren” and has to use clumsy terms around it, it would mean that the people who are eligible are chosen by a king/president/giant penguin.😉
Rejistanian was inspired by German in this respect and has the expression ‘atani. What makes this word so special? Mostly that I use it to illustrate derivation quite often since it was the first I encountered which exists in all noun classes. So I will present a quick excursion into the world rejistanian words.
The infinitive of a verb starts with an apostrophe. This only indicates the shift of the stress from the second to the first syllable and has no other phonetic quality. ‘atani: to run for office
The adjective or adverb is not marked: atani: related to a campaign/candidacy
The ‘he class refers to a person who is related to the word: atani’he: candidate
The ‘het class refers to a concrete object or thing (or at least to something more concrete than the ‘tan class): atani’het: campaign
The ‘tan class refers to abstract objects: atani’tan: candidacy. |
- Term Papers and Free Essays
Soviet Industrialization
This essay Soviet Industrialization is available for you on! Search Term Papers, College Essay Examples and Free Essays on - full papers database.
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When one looks at the history of the USSR, one of the most important aspects to look at is the massive industrialization that took place under the Soviet regime. This industrialization, like so many other things, is a complicated issue, with many arguments circling around it. The process was marked both by tremendous progress and expansion, as well as gross inefficiency and waste.
To better understand the Soviet industrialization, it is necessary for us to briefly look at the history that preceded it. When the Bolsheviks came to power, they inherited a country with economic conditions that were far from favorable. It was a country devastated by World War I as well as the civil war that followed it. For all intents and purposes, one can say that the economy of the country was in ruins, and drastic steps were necessary in order to feed the hungry population, and for the country to survive.
To answer this problem, a New Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented. In essence, this policy went away from communist ideology to a large degree. It allowed farmers to go out and sell what they have produced, and brought in many elements of the free market. At the same time, the Soviet regime restored the industry which existed but was devastated by war.
To a large degree, this policy was successful. By 1920s, the USSR managed to reach industrial production levels of roughly 1913. (Suny 233) Furthermore, the population was no longer starving, and living conditions improved throughout the country. However, NEP also brought in several problems. One of them, in the eyes of the Soviet leadership, was that it naturally brought polarization into society, producing some rich and some poor peasants, whereas ideologically there were supposed to be no classes in the new society (Suny 171)
A more serious problem, however, was the fact that rapid industrial advance was incompatible with NEP. It was necessary to shift country's resources from agriculture towards the production of heavy industry. Instead of producing consumption goods, it was necessary to produce capital goods. (Suny 234)
The peasants, however, had little incentive to sell their product, since there were few things of use that they could get in return (since the economy concentrated on production of capital goods instead of consumption goods). This, naturally, brought tension between the city which had to be fed, and the peasants who would not give up or sell their product, unless compelled to do so by the state.(Suny 177)
Eventually, the ideas of NEP (which were planned as temporary measures to begin with), were scrapped. Peasants were forced into collective farms, and special units were sent into the countryside, to take away grain and other product from peasants by force. This often had devastating effects, because such units often took not only what was to be consumed, but also grain which was to be planted for further production., bringing the countryside (and eventually most of the country) to starvation.(Suny 222)
As the Soviet leadership embarked on rapid industrialization program, the Soviet government introduced a concept called the five-year plan, where impossibly high targets for production were set (not so much as real guidelines, but more as goals which were to stimulate maximum effort).(Suny 234)
New language and slogans entered society. Industrialization was made to look like a military effort, with its own "fronts" and victories (such as achieving certain production figures). (Suny 234)
A further example of the "militarizing" of economy and industrialization, was the fact that it was centralized and hierarchical in nature. Just like in an army, the people below were responsible first and foremost to those above. Moreover, coercion operated on all levels, which was especially important considering the fact that there were very few material rewards available for good work. (Suny 237)
To a large degree, this militarizing characterized the entire process of industrialization. In a sense, industrialization and the need to modernize was portrayed as a war for survival, which justified the need for many brutalities and losses (because after all, there are no wars without losses). Inefficiencies and breakdowns which resulted from bad economic policy, were blamed on "enemies of the people", and the leadership engaged
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Academic journal article Phi Delta Kappan
On Hoosiers, Yankees, and Mountaineers
Academic journal article Phi Delta Kappan
On Hoosiers, Yankees, and Mountaineers
Article excerpt
For almost 200 years economists, politicians, and philosophers have debated the desirability of industrial development and its effects on society., Because the mission of the U.S. public schools is to socialize children into adult life and because our schools were once under direct community control, the changing nature of our communities in this century has profound implications for educators. This is particularly true for the rural communities and schools of America.
Since the late 1800s industrial development has transformed our cities. Some urban (and later suburban) communities profited greatly from such development; others were not as lucky. Because the plight of many urban schools today has been well-documented in the education literature, we need not dwell on this topic.(2)
It is a more difficult task to find rural communities that have benefited from industrialism to the same extent as some of their urban counterparts. Metropolitan communities in the U.S. draw people and resources from the countryside and have done so for a hundred years. Even today job opportunities continue to decline in most rural communities, which means that many rural students must seek educational degrees consistent with employment in the city.(3) Rural educators thus face the double challenge of generating dollars to operate local schools where property values are low, while at the same time teaching values and skills that are useful primarily in metropolitan America.
The dilemmas that face rural schooling in industrial nations to@ day manifest themselves in classical economics texts, they are visible in films and other portrayals of rural life, and they are audible in the conversations documented in qualitative research about rural education. We explore each of these areas here.
Economic Dilemmas
In the classical texts, the economic growth associated with industrial capitalism was often credited with ushering in great leaps forward in social progress. Some authors recognized that industrial development could occur only if rural citizens were coerced or enticed into leaving their homes and seeking work in the city. And this end could best be accomplished through government policies that forced the producers of food to be as efficient as the producers of manufactured goods.(4)
Robert Owen challenged several underlying assumptions held by most advocates of industrialism. He questioned the prevailing view that city life was preferable to life in the countryside, that wage labor could elevate the masses out of poverty, and that consumption was the cornerstone of human happiness. In his view, industrial capitalism created poverty along with wealth and was not an economic panacea. Moreover, poverty was not the only negative impact of industrialism on the human condition, for industrial economic development also assaulted the social fabric of Western culture.
A principle quite unfavorable to individual and general happiness was working havoc with [the individual's] social environment, neighborhood, his standing in the community, his craft; in a word, with those relationships to nature and man in which his economic existence was formerly embedded. The industrial revolution was causing a social dislocation of stupendous proportions, and the problem of poverty was merely the economic aspect of this event.(5)
Debates between economists in the early days of the Industrial Age presaged events to come. The Industrial Revolution in the U.S. was dramatic and comprehensive: our cities grew larger and became metropolitan as industrialization expanded. Many agricultural workers and the rural communities they supported disappeared from the countryside as government policies encouraged agribusiness and subsidized large-scale fishing and timbering industries. Americans of all stripes became "consumers," living within a market economy where careers increasingly replaced craft guilds and subdivisions replaced communities. …
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Suppose there are 19 marbles in a bag: 5 red, 6 green, and 8 blue ones. How many ways can 5 marbles be selected if exactly 2 marbles are red and 3 are another color?
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I'm not really sure what the title of the post is asking. If you want to choose $5$ marbles, $2$ of which are red and $3$ of which are not red, then there are no repetitions here. You need the Multiplication principle here ( – JavaMan Jan 18 '12 at 4:14
Maybe, it's also good to ask, whether OP is aware of the principle of inclusion-exclusion? – user21436 Jan 18 '12 at 4:17
up vote 3 down vote accepted
This is a simple problem, and you don't need inclusion-exclusion, removing repetitions, and the like.
# of ways = (ways to select 2 red)*(ways to select any 3 of other colors)
= C(5,2)*C(14,3)
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I won't downvote, but for future reference I think that giving answers outright should be discouraged, especially when the OP has yet to respond to comments in the OP can discuss the problem. – JavaMan Jan 18 '12 at 4:44
@JavaMan: Ok, i'm new to this forum. I'll bear it in mind. – true blue anil Jan 18 '12 at 6:27
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Homes like this one in Burtts Corner saw flooding due to several storms in December, which many say is because of climate change. ((CBC))
New Brunswick residents say December's flooding has them worried about the impacts of global warming.
Coastlines around the province were hammered with storm surges, rain and wind throughout the month.
Beth McLaughlin has been thinking a lot about global warming and believes our forestry practices are partly to blame.
"It seems to me we're sort of burying our heads in the sand because it's here. Anybody who lives on the coast or spends any time on the coast has seen the changes at the high tide levels," said McLaughlin. "You know you can't just build a rock wall around these places, we really have to take into account where we live and what we're doing."
Simone Robichaud knows more than most about the effects of December's rain.
She works in the claims department of an insurance company—and said last month was not normal.
"It was very unusual. I was talking to a guy yesterday about how it affected his cottage and what he was explaining to me is that there was no ice to protect the land and that's why he lost ten feet of his front," said Robichaud. " He said if there's another storm like that he's going to lose the cottage."
Robichaud believes climate change has arrived and said it's time for everyone to do what they can to reverse it. |
Striped Skunk
Mephitis mephitis
Striped Skunks are a fairly large mammal from the Weasel Family. They are black with two white stripes down the back which meet at the head, giving skunks a white cap. They have bushy black tails, usually tipped with white. The color patterns can vary.
Striped Skunks have long claws on their front feet for digging.
Males are larger than females, growing up to two and a half feet long.
Striped Skunks can be found in open woods, grassy fields, and parks. They are never far from water.
Utah Education Network
Environment Canada
Striped Skunks are mostly nocturnal, and are therefore very active at night. They build a den in a protected place. A skunk den is usually a burrow with up to five entrances. Inside, the den usually has between one and three chambers. Skunks may use an old fox or woodchuck burrow, or dig their own. Sometimes they den in a hollow log or under a building.
One of the chambers is used as a nest, with the skunk adding dried leaves and grass.
Skunks mate in late Winter or early Spring. A litter may have four to seven young. About six weeks after they are born, their mother will take them hunting.
Skunks are well-known for the way they defend themselves. They have a special gland in their butts that sprays a foul-smelling liquid. The liquid will cause great pain if it gets in an animal's (or person's) eyes. It will also temporarily blind them and make them nauseus (feel like throwing up). The spray is a type of oil, so it is very hard to get off and will smell bad for a long time.
Skunks only spray as a last resort. If threatened, a skunk will first face its attacker, arch its tail, chatter its teeth, and stomp its feet. If the threat does not go away, then the skunk will turn around and spray.
Skunks are not camouflaged by their fur since most animals don't mess with them.
Wildlife Services Image Collection
Wild Encounters
Striped Skunks only have a few predators, including: owls, hawks, and foxes.
Skunks eat many kinds of animal and vegetable foods, including: beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, ants, bees, wasps, earthworms, milllipedes, centipedes, crayfish, snails, slugs, salamanders, frogs, turtle eggs, eggs of ground-nesting birds, mice, shrews, squirrels, young rabbits, fish, small snakes, cherries, blackberries, blueberries, grasses, nuts, and carrion.
Striped Skunks will often dig for their food, especially grubs (beetle larvae) and mice.
Copyright, Dr. Lloyd Glenn Ingles, California Academy of Sciences
Striped Skunks are not built to run fast. Their legs are made for digging, so they run with a slow "waddle." In the dark they can be mistaken for cats until they run.
Skunks can spray up to fifteen feet. The smell of the spray can travel a mile.
Skunks do not hibernate. They do fatten up before Winter.
Skunks are the number one carrier of the Rabies Virus.
Additional Media
Striped Skunk Coloring Page
Link to Coloring Page
Relationships in Nature:
Common Black Ground Beetle
Great Horned Owl
Smooth Sumac
Woodchuck SP
Red-tailed Hawk
Red Fox SP
Fiery Searcher
Barred Owl
Asian Tiger Mosquito Pa
Eastern Tent Caterpillar Moth
Red Fox
Highbush Blueberry
Freshwater Leech Pa
Creek Chub
American Dog Tick Pa
Eastern Black Swallowtail
Witch Hazel
Spotted Jewelweed D
Eastern Yellow Jacket
Evergreen Blackberry D
Rabid Wolf Spider
Evergreen Blackberry
Eastern Hognose Snake SP
Leopard Slug
Red Maple
Chigger Pa
Black Carpenter Ant
Green Hawthorn
Dung Beetle FP
Norway Rat
Least Shrew
Red-backed Salamander
Wood Frog
Northern Bobwhite
Highbush Blueberry
Eastern Box Turtle
Evergreen Blackberry
North American Milllipede
Polyphemus Moth
Relationship to Humans:
Striped Skunks are very helpful to people, since they eat rodents (mice, squirrels, moles) and pesky insects (especially grubs and caterpillars). Many people fear them because of their ability to spray and because they sometimes carry Rabies. You will rarely see a skunk, however. More often you will smell one on, or near, a highway, because they are often hit by cars at night. If you see one during the day, call the police immediately, because this is not normal and it may be rabid. Remember, skunks will not spray you unless you are messing with them and they feel threatened. Sometimes pets get sprayed after attacking a skunk. There are different chemicals, as well as tomato juice, which can be used to get rid of the smell. Skunks are sometimes attracted by dogfood or catfood which is left outside.
Striped Skunks can sometimes be pests when they dig holes in lawns looking for grubs. Their musk (scent), beleive it or not, is sometimes used in perfumes.
Mephitis mephitis
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Mary Ward (1585-1645)
The Sisters known as the Loreto Sisters belong to the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) founded in 1609 by a twenty-four-year-old Yorkshire woman, Mary Ward.
Because of religious persecution in England, Catholics from that country had to seek education in Continental Europe.
Mary Ward and her first companions established their first school at St Omer (now in France) in a house, which is still there, although it is now a private residence.
In St Omer, Mary Ward and her group became known as the 'English Ladies' - a title still used for members of the CJ sisters (formerly IBVM) in Germany and in other countries in Europe.
Despite enormous difficulties, Mary Ward set up houses and schools in Bavaria, Austria and Italy in a relatively short time. She moved between the countries mainly on foot. A pair of her rough shoes, and her pilgrim's hat can still be seen in one of the CJ convents in Altötting in Germany.
Mary Ward's pilgrim hat and shoes
Many of Mary Ward's ideas about religious life and about the work to be done by women were so novel in the early 17th century that in 1631 her Institute was suppressed.
Mary Ward died in Yorkshire in 1645. In 1650 her sisters had to flee the country again and seek safety in Paris.
Eventually in 1677 the Sisters were able to return to York and open a school in the city.
Mary Ward was joined by the first members of the Institute in 1609 |
Why People Work Too Much, Even After They Have Enough
Do you work more than you need to, more than your corporate overlords require, even after you have plenty of money in the bank? If so, a new study might explain why you're sacrificing your leisure.
(Photo Credit: ota_photos/Flickr)
Researchers at the University of Chicago, the University of Miami, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University designed a two-phase experiment to determine whether people "overearn" -- that is, whether they have the tendency to continue earning, beyond what they need, at the expense of relaxation and free time.
In the first phase, subjects sat in front of a computer for five minutes, wearing headsets that played their choice of either harsh white noise or music. Each subject was told that he or she would earn squares of Dove chocolate for listening the white noise a set number of times. One set of subjects had to listen the white noise fewer times to get the chocolate -- those were high earners. The other set, the low earners, had to listen to more of the white noise in order to get the reward.
Both were told that there would be a second phase, in which they could eat their chocolates. They were also asked, prior to the experiment's start, how many chocolates they thought they could eat. On average, the high-earner group predicted they could eat 3.75 chocolates.
The high earners then continued to earn, far beyond their estimates, for an average of 10.47 chocolates. They were able to eat less than half of their earnings.
The low earners, on the other hand, tended to earn less chocolate than they could eat. But most importantly, both groups chose to listen to the same amount of white noise. In other words, they worked as hard as they could, independent of the rewards.
"We introduce the concept of 'mindless accumulation,' " Christopher Hsee, lead author of the paper, tells The New York Times. Hsee is a professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "It's a waste of effort, but once people are in action, they can't stop."
What does this mean for you? Well, if you're working more than your bank account or boss requires, the explanation might be human nature. By being aware of this tendency, maybe we'll be less likely to make bad choices that trade the best things in life for a little money.
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Halving hydrogen
Wed, 04/23/2014 - 11:13am
Mary Beckman, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Neutron crystallography shows this iron catalyst gripping two hydrogen atoms (red spheres). This arrangement allows an unusual dihydrogen bond to form between the hydrogen atoms (red dots).Like a hungry diner ripping open a dinner roll, a fuel cell catalyst that converts hydrogen into electricity must tear open a hydrogen molecule. Now researchers have captured a view of such a catalyst holding onto the two halves of its hydrogen feast. The view confirms previous hypotheses and provides insight into how to make the catalyst work better for alternative energy uses.
This study is the first time scientists have shown precisely where the hydrogen halves end up in the structure of a molecular catalyst that breaks down hydrogen, the team reported online in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. The design of this catalyst was inspired by the innards of a natural protein called a hydrogenase enzyme.
"The catalyst shows us what likely happens in the natural hydrogenase system," said Morris Bullock of the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE)'s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). "The catalyst is where the action is, but the natural enzyme has a huge protein surrounding the catalytic site. It would be hard to see what we have seen with our catalyst because of the complexity of the protein."
Ironing out expense
Hydrogen-powered fuel cells offer an alternative to burning fossil fuels, which generates greenhouse gases. Molecular hydrogen—two hydrogen atoms linked by an energy-rich chemical bond—feeds a fuel cell. Generating electricity through chemical reactions, the fuel cell spits out water and power.
To make fuel cells less expensive, researchers turned to natural hydrogenase enzymes for inspiration. These enzymes break hydrogen for energy in the same way a fuel cell would. But while conventional fuel cell catalysts require expensive platinum, natural enzymes use cheap iron or nickel at their core.
The physical shape of a catalyst—along with electrochemical information—can reveal how it does that. So far, scientists have determined the overall structure of catalysts with cheap metals using x-ray crystallography, but hydrogen atoms can't be located accurately using x-rays. Based on chemistry and x-ray methods, researchers have a best guess for the position of hydrogen atoms, but imagination is no substitute for reality.
Bonding jamboree
Crystallizing their catalyst of interest into a nugget almost 40 times the size needed for x-rays, the team succeeded in determining the structure of the iron-based catalyst.
In this form, the hydride and proton form a type of bond uncommonly seen by scientists—a dihydrogen bond. The energy-rich chemical bond between two hydrogen atoms in a molecule is called a covalent bond and is very strong. Another bond called a "hydrogen bond" is a weak one formed between a slightly positive hydrogen and another, slightly negative atom.
Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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March 6, 2005
Knowledge Fades As Africa Languages Die
MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) -- A U.N. Conference on Trade and Development report on protecting traditional knowledge argues that beyond a devastating impact on culture, the death of a language wipes out centuries of know-how in preserving ecosystems - leading to grave consequences for biodiversity.
The United Nations estimates half of the world's 6,000 languages will disappear in less than a century. Roughly a third of those are spoken in Africa and about 200 already have less than 500 speakers. Experts estimate half the world's people now use one of just eight languages: Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese and French.
Villagers in Indonesia's Kayan Mentarang national park, for example, have for centuries practiced a system of forest management called Tanah Ulen, or "forbidden land." On a rotating basis, elders declare parcels of the forest protected, prohibiting hunting and gathering.
Along a boulevard lined with flowering acacia trees, young people in designer clothes and high-heeled shoes chatter on the sidewalk struggling to be heard over the driving Latin rhythms spilling from a nightclub.
Maputo's vibrant nightlife lets people forget it is the capital of one of the world's poorest countries. Here you can eat Italian, dance like a Brazilian and flirt in Portuguese.
One thing that's in ever shorter supply and perhaps even less demand: Mozambique's own indigenous languages, the storehouse for the accumulated knowledge of generations.
"Sons no longer speak the language of their fathers ... our culture is dying," laments Paulo Chihale, director of a project that seeks to train Mozambican youths in traditional crafts.
While Mozambique has 23 native languages, the only official one is Portuguese - a hand-me-down tongue from colonial times that at once unifies a linguistically diverse country and undermines the African traditions that help make it unique.
Chihale looks up from his cluttered desk at MozArte, the U.N.- and government-funded crafts project, and complains bitterly about how his nation's memory is fading away.
"Our culture has a rich oral tradition, oral history, stories told from one generation to another. But it is an oral literature our kids will never hear," says Chihale, who speaks the Chopi language at home.
Anthropologists speculate that tribal people whose ancestors have lived for tens of thousands of years on India's Andaman and Nicobar islands survived Asia's tsunami catastrophe because of ancient knowledge. They think signs in the wind, the sea and the flight of birds let the tribes know to get to higher ground ahead of the waves.
But finding economic reasons to keep tradition alive can be a challenge.
In Mozambique, cheap foreign imports have destroyed the market for local crafts beyond what little can be sold to tourists. Horacio Arab, the son of a basket weaver who learned his father's trade, said he improved his skills at MozArte but then abandoned weaving because he could not make a living.
Mozambican linguist Rafael Shambela says the pressures from globalization are often too great to resist. To conserve native languages and culture will require societies to find ways to cast them with an inherent value, he argues.
On a small campus along a dirt road south of Maputo, Shambela has joined a government effort to write textbooks and curriculums that will allow public school students to learn in 16 of the country's 23 languages. But the program is limited by Mozambique's poverty.
"A language is a culture," says Shambela, who works for Mozambique's National Institute for the Development of Education. "It contains the history of a people and all the knowledge they have passed down for generations."
The trade-off in settling on Portuguese as a unifying force after independence in 1975 has been an erosion of the rites and rhythms of traditional life.
"From dating to mourning, the rules are becoming less clear," Shambela says. |
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Cinema Characteristics
most familiar and most accessible art form; like theater, but without the spontaneity of "live" performers
James Cameron
Titanic 1997, a Marxist-Socialist critique of America
Cinema Definition
aesthetic communication through the design of time and three-dimensional space compressed into a two dimensional image
series of still pictures
Persistence of Vision
motion picture does not really move due to an optical phenomenon
astronomer who discovered persistence of vision
Classification of film (3)
narrative, documentary, and absolute
Narrative is also called______
tells a story
familiar literary style
genres (3)
detective, western, horror story
Example of Narrative film
ET-- symbolizes the innocence and beauty of childhood
attempts to record actuality using primarily either a sociological or journalistic approach; does not use professional actors normally;gives illusion of reality
Example of documentary
Leni Riefenstahl
"Triumph of Will" -- Nazi Germany under control of Hitler (charismatic)
Absolute Film
record of movement or form; tells no story, but exists solely as movement or form; an artistic experience
Mise-en-scene (film)
"how the visual materials are staged, framed, and photographed" (Louis Giannetti "Understanding Movies"
converts the mise-en-scene from three dimensional to two dimensional space
Auteur Theory
whoever controls the mise-en-scene is the true "author" of the film
Cahiers du cinema
french journal that described directorial dominance in film art- auter theory
the quality of film that enables it to be cut, spliced, and ordered according to the needs of the film and the desires of the filmmaker
joining together shots in the editing process
Jump Cut
cut that breaks the continuity of time by moving forward from one part of the action to another that is obviously separated from the first by an interval of time, location, or camera position
Form Cut
cuts from one image to another-a different object that has similar shape or contour
Example of Form Cut
D.W. Griffith's silent film "Intolerance"--battering ram
most aesthetic use of the cut in film; handled in two ways, first; as an indication of compression or elongation of time, and second; as a rapid succession of images to illustrate an association of ideas
Example of Montage
Sergi Eisenstein--Russian army officer and the peacock
Angle Shots
open up the range of possible comments on the subject being filmed
what the camera records over a particular period of time and forms the basic unit of filmmaking
Master Shot
comprises a single shot of an entire piece of action, taken to facilitate the assembly of the composed shots in which the scene will finally be composed
Establishing Shot
long shot introduced at the beginning of a scene to establish the interrelationship of details, a time, or a place
Long Shot
far away from the subject
Medium shot
closer to the subject than a long shot
Close Up
closer than a medium shot
Two Shot
two people within the frame
Bridging Shot
inserted in the editing of a scene to cover a break of continuity
Tightly Framed Shot
the closer the shot, the more confined a figure seems
Loosely Framed Shot
suggest freedom
Jane Anderson
used tightly framing in "The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio" to suggest nurturing intimacy in her film based on an Ohio housewife
Closed Form Films
the shot is carefully composed and self-contained
Open Form Film
frame is de-emphasized, suggesting the temporary masking
Gillian Armstrong
"Mrs. Soffel" uses open form for realism
Objective Viewpoint
third person viewpoint; universal spectator
Subjective Viewpoint
the audience feels like they are actually participating in the scene
Cutting Within the Frame
avoids editing process
John Ford
"Stage coach" uses cutting within the frame
uses cutting within the frame
Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott
"Gladiator" uses cutting within the frame
transitional devices where the scene fades in and out
Lap Dissolve
Fade in and out occur simultaneously
invisible line moves across the screen
Iris-out and Iris-In
closing or opening an aperture lens
George Lucas
"Star Wars"--uses iris-out technique
Depth of Focus
if both rear and distant objects appear clearly at the same time
Rack or Differential Focus
when either the foreground or background appears blurry and one appears clear
a shot taken as the camera moves in the same direction and speed as the object being photographed
taken by rotating the camera horizontally, keeping it fixed vertically--uses in TV
moves the camera vertically or diagonally and adds variety to a sequence
Dolly Shot
moving the camera towards or away from the subject
Zoom shot
negates the need for camera movement
Cinema Verite
when natural or outdoor lighting is used and the camera is hand held, the film appears unsteady
Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers
uses Cinema Verite
Alfred Hitchcock
Psycho--sense stimuli
Giovanni Bologna
Rape of the Sabine Woman---psycho remade this
Male Gaze
from a males perspective
Louis Genannetti and Mira Nair
Vanity Fair--uses male gaze
Cross cutting
alternates between two separate actions related by theme, mood, or plot
Parallel Development
The God Father--religious service, men destroying enemies
Direct Address
when characters look at or talk to the audience ex. tom jones
Camera Look
Buster Keaton-stare at audience, Charlie Chaplin-wink, Stan Laurel-gesture "how did all this happen" Bing crosby and bob Hope-comment to the audience
Magnitude and Convention
the means by which the film is communicated
Visual Metaphor
The Mission (Robert Dinero) guilt is felt by weaponry cut from him and tumbles down the mountain relieving him of his grief
La Dolce Vita--symbolic villain in black
symbolic x when someone is about to be killed
John Ford
Edwin S. Porter
The Kleptomaniac---parrallel development--wealthy woman, poor woman sent to jail
Fred zinnemann
High Noon--waiting for train
The grapes of wrath
"red river valley" audio theme when mother leaves
Frank Spotnitz
"the score is like a second screenplay, commenting on and enriching the first."
Nora Ephron
Sleepless in Seattle--classical tunes by contemporary singers
Voice over Narration
spoken commentary to display a characters thoughts
sound not derived from an obvious source
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Sticker dressing - First World War
Usborne activities series
Young historians will be fascinated by this detailed sticker book, following the men from many countries who took part in the First World War, from field marshals and recruitment officers, to ambulance drivers and soldiers.
With over 170 stickers of historically accurate uniforms to help get the men ready for action.
Scenes include ‘Preparing for war’, ‘In the trenches’ and ‘In a field hospital’.
Includes extras such as weapons and animals to complete the scenes.
Suitable for children aged 5+.
Soft cover, 24 pages + 10 pages stickers. |
Dental Complications of Eating Disorders
Dietary habits can and do play a role in oral health. Everyone has heard from their dentist that eating too much sugar can lead to cavities, but did you know that high intake of acidic “diet” foods can have an equally devastating effect on your teeth? Changes in the mouth are oftentimes the first physical signs of an eating disorder. The harmful habits and nutritional deficiencies that often accompany disordered eating can have severe consequences on one’s dental health.
If you are experiencing any dental symptoms, talk with your dentist about ways to care for your teeth and mouth. If you notice these symptoms in a loved one, you may use your observations to initiate a respectful conversation about your concerns. There are methods for improving oral health while seeking help to change harmful eating habits.
Dental Effects of Eating Disorders
• Without the proper nutrition, gums and other soft tissue inside your mouth may bleed easily. The glands that produce saliva may swell. Individuals may experience chronic dry mouth.
• Food restriction often leads to nutritional deficiency. Nutrients that promote oral health include calcium, iron and B vitamins. Insufficient calcium promotes tooth decay and gum disease; even if an anorexia patient does consume enough calcium, they also need enough vitamin D to help the body absorb it. Insufficient iron can foster the development of sores inside the mouth. Insufficient amounts of vitamin B3 (also known as niacin) can contribute to bad breath and the development of canker sores. Gums can become red and swollen—almost glossy-looking—which is often a sign of gingivitis. The mouth can also be extremely dry, due to dehydration, and lips may become reddened, dry and cracked.
• Frequent vomiting leads to strong stomach acid repeatedly flowing over the teeth. The tooth’s outer covering (enamel) can be lost and teeth can change in color, shape and length, becoming brittle, translucent and weak. Eating hot or cold food or drink may become uncomfortable. Tissue loss and erosive lesions on the surface of the mouth may occur. The edges of teeth often become thin and break off easily. In extreme cases the pulp can be exposed and cause infection, discoloration or even pulp death. Tooth decay can actually be aggravated by extensive tooth brushing or rinsing following vomiting.
• Degenerative arthritis within the temporomandibular joint in the jaw is a dental complication often associated with eating disorders. This joint is found where the lower jaw hinges to the skull. When arthritis begins in this joint it may create pain in the joint area, chronic headaches and problems chewing and opening/closing the mouth.
• Purging can lead to redness, scratches and cuts inside the mouth, especially on the upper surface commonly referred to as the ‘soft palate.’ Such damage is a warning sign for dental professionals, because healthy daily behaviors rarely cause harm to this area. Soft palate damage is often accompanied by cuts or bruises on the knuckles as a result of an individual’s teeth placing pressure on the skin while attempting to purge.
• A frequent binge-and-purge cycle can cause an enlargement of the salivary glands. Enlarged glands can be painful and are often visible to others, which can lead to emotional distress.
Treatment of the Oral Health Consequences of Eating Disorders
• Maintain meticulous oral health care related to tooth brushing and flossing, as well as frequent and appropriate communication and examination by your dentist. A confidential relationship should always be maintained between the dentist and patient, and therefore, the patient should feel that the dental office is a “safe” place to disclose their ED struggles and progress towards recovery.
• Individuals in treatment may still engage in purging behaviors, and should be honest with their treatment team about these behaviors. To maintain oral care while curbing these behaviors, after purging patients should immediately rinse their mouth with water or use a sugar-free mouth rinse. Patients should swish only water around their mouth due to the high acidic content in the oral cavity. It has also been recommended that brushing be halted for an hour to avoid actually scrubbing the stomach acids deeper into the tooth enamel.
• A dry mouth, or xerostomia, may result from vomiting and/or poor overall nutrition. Xerostomia will also frequently lead to tooth decay. Moisturizing the mouth with water, or other specified products, will help keep recurrent decay at a minimum.
• Consult with your dentist about your specific treatment needs. Fluoride rinses may be prescribed as well as desensitizing or re-mineralizing agents.
Robert Schlossberg, DDS and Deborah Klotz, DDS contributed to this article. |
Religion News Service: In-depth. Impartial. Engaged.
Blogs » Omid Safi - What Would Muhammad Do?
Beyond East and West—the Haghia Sophia
I am coming back from three weeks in paradise, called by the local Istanbul. (and by some, Constantinople).
There is so much to adore about this magical place, and many clichés. While many rely on the old “East meets West”, “Bridge between Asia and Europe” cliché, we often fail to realize just how deep the intertwined connections in this part of the world run.
We in the United States and Western Europe tend to put draw a straight line from ancient Greece to Rome, and then onto the Renaissance and then onto Enlightenment and contemporary West. We overlook the fact that Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to his new city, Constantinople, as of 330. We forget that Constantinople was simply “New Rome.” The Eastern Christianity that disappears from our view was in many ways was the center of Christiandom for centuries and centuries….
In other words, the lines of “East” and “West” did not exist back then, these are our inventions, our lines, our borders, our obsessive sense of needing to construct a genealogy even as it obfuscates an actual, more complicated, and real history.
So let us hear it for Constantinople, let us hear it for New Rome, let us hear it for Istanbul. Let us hear it for a place where Byzantine Greek culture met Christianity, met Islam. Let us hear it for a place where waters meet, where cultures overlap, where people from near and far mingle, now in peace and now in tension.
And let us look at an image of what was the center of this place for over 1400 years, first as the grandest church in the world for almost a thousand years, and then as an incomparable mosque. This is the Haghia Sophia, the famous Mosque/Church of Constantinople/Istanbul.
It is this church that contains some of the most famous representations of Christ and the Virgin,
this church that contains the largest dome that had ever been built in the world. It is this church that according to its architects had the philosophy of having a dome, representing the heavenly throne with its image of Christ, being held up not with a forest of columns, but rather by having the considerable weight of the dome distributed through lower domes. The effect is to create a cavernous wide open space that would then be filled by the spirit of God.
The inside space had been broken up by a scaffolding for restorations for over 10 years, and now finally we can get a sense of the extraordinary opening created. It’s like the work of a great musician, where the magic happens not just by the notes, by the silence and opening between the notes. It’s not just the dome and the stone, but the opening that creates the magic. And likewise with us, it is not just our flesh and bones, but rather the opening of the heart that creates the space filled by God’s own presence.
This church/mosque continues to be venerated by Christians and Muslims alike, and right down to today we see Christians and Muslims adoring it, and admiring the presence of the same God. It is a reminder of how silly and unconvincing conventional "East/West" dichotomies are and have been. It is not so much East meets West; it is Earth meets Heaven.
Tags: aya sophia, christianity, constantinople, east, haghia sophia, islam, istanbul, west
1. Christians and Muslims do not worsip the same God. We worship the Holy Trinity. Muslims do not. To say they are the same is a grave error.
2. I’m sorry but Christians and Muslims don’t worship the same God. This is the problem.
3. Lyrical and irenic, but disingenuous or deluded: “It is a reminder of how silly and unconvincing conventional “East/West” dichotomies are and have been.”
The writer fails to remember that the greatest church in Christendom became “an incomparable mosque” by invasion, conquest and force of arms by an alien and imperialist religious and ethnic force: Turkish Islam, the successor to the previous alien and imperialist religious and ethnic force, Arab Islam, which invaded and conquered by force of arms the Christian Roman Empire.
Islam VS Christendom (now the post-Christian “West”). Please don’t take a symbol of displacement and try to turn it into Disneyland.
4. Hello Matt and Jon Woods. Fortunately, the Vatican as well as many Protestant denominations disagree with your assessments, and recognize that Muslims, Jews, and Christians do in fact worship the same deity, even though we have different ways of understanding the same God. For some of the latest developments, see the “A Common Word” initiative.
and EssEm, I would never deny the reality of conquest, and no one is talking about Disneyland. However, I would state that the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, and today, the American Empire all qualify as empires. All of them have utilized conquest to accomplish their imperial goals. In other words, unlike your assessment, I do not see conquest and imperial might the monopoly of Islam, but rather see it as the tendency of all world-conquering empires.
May God bless you all. Omid Safi
5. Mr. Safi, I (a Christian) appreciate you bringing this magnificent place to our attention and for lifting our vision toward heaven. God bless you!
6. No, Mr. Safi, your vague travel talk just won’t do—we know how Hagia Sophia became a mosque in 1453.
7. Mr. Safi, I appreciate your article! It is true that not all groups under the name of Christian belief the same, as I understand also occurs throughout Islam. The precise difference in belief that makes “the same god” impossible is that historically orthodox Christians believe that Jesus IS God. I am correct in the understanding that Muslims only revere Jesus as a prophet? If so, that is a most fundamental difference that cannot be overlooked.
8. is ego meets Spirit, the awakening of the Soul.
9. Ah yes, Istanbul. Mack, had the Western Catholics not sacked Constantinople during the 4th Crusade perhaps it’s Christian defenders could have kept Mehmet II out? If Conquest is such an atrocious thing I’ll tell you what, you give us Cordoba and Jerusalem back and we’ll give you the Hagia Sofia-then everything’ll be squarsies. While we’re swapping, get in touch with the pagans-I’m sure they’d take Rome back, and what about pretty much all of North America?
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Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
An Irish Astronomical Tract (Author: [unknown])
Caibidil 23
Manifestum est, etcetera.
front of the sun, considers the light prodigious on account of the intense darkness which surrounds him. Another reason: when any one of the planets is placed directly in front of the sun, it must revolve in its own orbit, and its light is the more brilliant because of that revolution, for it is the nearest to the earth; and this never happens in the case of the planets above the sun.
The planets that are beneath the sun, i.e., Mercury and Venus, never arrive opposite the sun and are never in the quadrate aspect. Not thus are they, but near it always, before or behind it, and the nearer they are to the sun the less is their light, and the further they are from it the greater the light.
The light, however, of the planets that pass opposite the sun, is always increasing by degrees, until they reach the place beyond which they cannot go, and where they must turn towards the sun again, and during that backward motion, their light is on the decrease until they are in the same degree as the sun, beneath it, then the half of them nearest the sun is light and the other half dark, as I said in reference to the moon, when it is in the same degree as the sun; for it is never visible except when it is at least fourteen degrees to one side of the sun, i.e., at its prime, or at its extreme wane.
to face p. 98 (1)
Now I will make the fourth figure to demonstrate better how they obtain their light, and I will place them on the western side of the sphere above the earth at the place in which they are continually (?) at evening time.
to face p. 98 (2 and 3) |
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A moment ago on Mr. Sunshine, Matthew Perry pronounced the end of a conch shell as in church. I learned it as being pronounced with a k sound.
On WikiPedia, both are listed as pronunciations, but on the Merriam Webster and Dictionary.com sites, the audio clip pronounces with a k.
Is there a proper or official pronunciation, perhaps from a different, originating language?
share|improve this question
What is this "official" you speak about, earthling? – Colin Fine Mar 3 '11 at 12:02
So, when you watch the movie (either one) Lord of the Flies, are you cringing in your seat from the pronunciation? – GEdgar Oct 25 '11 at 15:41
My scuba diving adventures have taken me to many places where conch is a delicacy, served raw, fried, and so forth, and in all cases it is pronounced "conk" by the locals.
share|improve this answer
According to the most official source we have in English, the dictionary, both pronunciations are valid.
The pronunciation of a borrowed word in the originating language has no bearing on the "proper" pronunciation of the word in English. However, the word conch comes from Latin concha, which would have been pronounced /konkʰa/ in Latin (to my knowledge). The raised "h" represents an aspirated /k/ sound, and it is different from both of the /tʃ/ and /k/ sounds suggested in the dictionary. As it happens, we also sometimes have an aspirated-k (kʰ) in English — however, we do it word-initially and in stressed syllables (only), and never in non-word-initial unstressed syllables. So, the unaspirated-k at the beginning of that word and the aspirated-k in the second syllable are reversed with respect to the natural English pronunciation (i.e. /kʰonka/ would follow English aspiration rules), and so pronouncing the word in the Latin way would sound quite odd mixed in with normal English speech.
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An insignificant note: the Romans took it from Greek. In the Greek word, the n was a gamma and was pronounced like English ng, just as the n in English nk—so not like the regular n. The Romans normally approximated Greek pronunciation (they even used two special, non-Latin letters: Y and Z; similarly, the combinations eu, oe, ps, th, ph, and ch were mostly either for Greek loan words or (archaic) dialect). Besides, they would have pronounced nc like English nk in any case. I wasn't sure whether you meant the n sound or the ng sound; you appeared to mean n, since you used IPA symbols elsewhere. – Cerberus Mar 3 '11 at 12:23
@Cerberus: I simplified the IPA to focus on the relevant parts. I also didn't change the vowels, which, for English would certainly be something like [kʰɔŋkə]. I didn't quite get what you mean about "they would have pronounced nc like English nk in any case" — it is "nch" not just "nc"... but maybe I am confused about what you were referring to there. Anyway, you are right that the Romans got it from the Greek; it's worth pointing out! – Kosmonaut Mar 3 '11 at 14:09
@Kosmonaut: Oh, you're right: your /kʰonka/ for English should have made that clear to me. My apologies. What I meant to say about nc was that it was always pronounced /ŋk/, whether followed by h or not, because n was pronounced /ŋ/ before any velar consonant (just as the gamma was in Greek). – Cerberus Mar 3 '11 at 15:03
Basically, the only reason they chose to spell gamma-chi as nch in Latin (which was also the only possible reason) was that they normally used n when they wanted to signify /ŋ/ before the other velar consonants: it was the obvious choice. – Cerberus Mar 3 '11 at 15:11
@Cerberus: Okay, got it! You just meant the n->ŋ place assimilation would occur in Latin (like it does in English), which in this case masks the difference between /n/ and /ŋ/ when converting from Greek. – Kosmonaut Mar 3 '11 at 15:18
It is pronounced like conk I know from living on an island that has a main export of conch and having it in almost every meal
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Now that you mention it, a recent episode of Top Chef used conch as the main ingredient and every single person (four contestants, four judges, and several guests) all pronounced it “conk”. – Synetech Mar 22 '11 at 0:15
The New Oxford American Dictionary lists three:
conch |kä ng k; kän ch; kô ng k|
Or kahnk, kahnch, kawnk.
Take your pick. They're not making it easy.
share|improve this answer
Dang, I was hoping it derives from another language (Hawaiian?) that would make give a conclusive pronunciation. – Synetech Mar 3 '11 at 3:09
@Synetech inc.: It derives from the Latin concha; I doubt that can help for the pronunciation of the word, though. – kiamlaluno Mar 3 '11 at 3:16
Well, I speak Spanish and doing some pronunciation comparison (Spanish & English for word conch), kahnch sounds more acceptable and accurate. Not sure if that actually helps. – Omega Mar 3 '11 at 4:33
I believe words with ch that come from Greek are normally pronounced /k/, like archaeology, chorus, chemistry, and Achilles. I can't think of any that aren't. The reason is probably that, as Kosmonaut has explained, it was pronounced /kʰ/ in classical Greek and Latin (or perhaps /k/ in Latin; note that Latin only had ch in Greek loan words).
The Oxford English Dictionary gives both pronunciations, so both are acceptable; but I'd personally prefer /k/ as the more idiomatic one.
share|improve this answer
In American English, the word is pronounced /kɑntʃ/; in British English, the pronunciation is /kɒŋk/, /kɒn(t)ʃ/.
The pronunciation you expected (with the final k, as in /kɒŋk/) is just one of the possible pronunciations, and it is not the pronunciation I hear on Long Island.
share|improve this answer
Well, I went to school in Canada, and that’s where I first heard it, in second grade. Matthew Perry was born in Massachusetts, but grew up in Ottawa, then moved to L.A. at 15. I suppose he could have heard the word for the first time when he was older in America. – Synetech Mar 3 '11 at 3:41
Hearing conch pronounced like church somehow makes it sound “American”, as though the speaker is less educated, similar to when (and I’ve only ever heard Americans pronounce it like this) the second ‘g’ in garage is said as ‘j’ (as in jump) as opposed to the ‘zh’ sound that everyone else uses. – Synetech Mar 3 '11 at 4:41
The NOAD reports that /ɡəˈrɑʒ/ is the pronunciation of garage in American English, while /ˈgarɑː(d)ʒ/ (or /ˈgarɑːɪdʒ/, or /gəˈrɑːʒ/) is the British pronunciation. It is probable one of the pronunciations is closer to the French pronunciation. – kiamlaluno Mar 3 '11 at 4:56
From Ngrams, the American pronunciation is roughly 50/50 split between /kɑntʃ/ and /kɑŋk/, while the British pronunciation is usually /kɒn(t)ʃ/ (you can tell from whether the plural is conches or conchs). – Peter Shor Nov 30 '11 at 12:21
protected by RegDwigнt Sep 3 '12 at 20:56
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Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery Test | Final Test - Hard
Russell Freedman
Buy the Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery Lesson Plans
Name: _________________________ Period: ___________________
Short Answer Questions
1. What did Franklin Roosevelt do after losing the 1920 election?
2. Why did Eleanor Roosevelt resign from the Daughters of the American Revolution?
3. What did Eleanor Roosevelt work with a private coach to improve?
4. What did Eleanor Roosevelt urge women to do in 'It's Up to the Women'?
5. How did Eleanor Roosevelt describe her political position?
Short Essay Questions
1. In what way did Franklin's polio contribute to Eleanor's political activism?
2. Describe Franklin Roosevelt's death.
3. Describe Franklin Roosevelt's illness and paralysis.
4. How did Eleanor develop as a public speaker?
5. How does Freedman describe Eleanor Roosevelt's trip to Europe to visit the troops?
6. How does Freedman describe the White House as it was occupied by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt?
7. Describe the crisis surrounding Lucy Mercer.
8. In what way was Eleanor Roosevelt unlike previous First Ladies?
9. Describe Eleanor's experience teaching at the Todhunter school.
10. What does the term 'liberal' mean when applied to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
In what role was Eleanor Roosevelt most comfortable and successful--Wife, partner, political speaker, charity worker, editor, mother, grandmother, etc? In what role was she least successful and happy?
Essay Topic 2
To what extent was Eleanor Roosevelt a product of her times? How did the Great War, Prohibition, the Depression and the build-up toward war in Europe in the 1930s shape her personality? How did her personality pres back against the pressure of the times?
Essay Topic 3
It comes out late in the biography that Franklin had seen Lucy Mercer (Lucy Mercer Rutherford) a number of times after Eleanor Roosevelt thought their affair was over. How did Eleanor Roosevelt live without intimacy of her own? Was politics enough for her? What did she do with her desire for personal love?
(see the answer keys)
This section contains 915 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page)
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What is RAID?
Thu, Mar 3, 2011
If you are in the computing business where the data security and availability are crucial at all times, chances are you might have already encountered or even worked with RAID. What is RAID? It is not a living thing but it is has become quite popular and seriously vital in many organizations with multiple users across different locations or even home users accessing multiple pictures at a time. RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent Disks or sometimes referred to as Redundant Array for Inexpensive Disks. The latter has been coined mostly to illustrate capability for generally improving computing performance and data security by using multiple low-cost disks.
In order to get down to the different efficiency pros and cons of various RAID levels, it is more proper to lay down some clarity to many RAID terminologies. Striping is how data are distributed and written into the various disks that will be set up into array either by byte-level or bit-level. Mirroring is the process by which data written into the other disk is copied onto the other disks simultaneously, creating a redundant replica of the other. Parity on the other hand is use alongside with striping and it is computational procedure that allows the array in determining what information has to be stored into what disk.
Standard Levels
Depending on the priority of the user, there are RAID levels that can be set to give more emphasis on some organizational and business decisions crucial to the operation such as increased computing performance, data security, data availability, and data storage capacity.
This array is mostly used by users who pay more for high performance computing. The adage that says “two heads are better than one” holds true for this set-up. It allows but offers no mirroring or redundancy in the process. The increased performance is made possible with the way data are stored and split into several disks in the array. This works wonders for those on the look out for speeding up the read and write computing functionality.
This set-up offers no striping but allows mirroring in the process. As data are identically written on various disks in the array, there is a very slim chance of losing any data even if the other disks fail in the process. However, performance is a little bit compromised compared to RAID0 array as the write process to a single disk may take a bit more time compared to having them split into several disks.
It is implemented by splitting data at the bit level and spreading it over designated data disks and redundancy disks. The redundant bits are calculated using Hamming codes, a form of error correcting code (ECC).
This array is set-up where striping is on a byte-level and with dedicated parity disk. This means that every file is split up amongst the striped drives equally, byte-by-byte, and this is what makes it exceptional because it allows reading of every byte simultaneously across different drives.
This array set-ups a block-level striping and setting aside a disk for dedicated parity). It is similar to RAID 5 except that it confines all parity data to a single disk which can negatively impact on the speed performance. Nonetheless, the error detection is achieved through dedicated parity which is stored in a separate, single disk unit.
This is set-up allows the bit level striping and distributed parity calculation. This is has been the more popular set-up among the earlier set-ups mentioned as it offers the benefits of RAID3 and RAID4 but without the bottleneck experience caused by a dedicated parity computation in a single disk.
This set-up offers the bit-level striping and double distributed parity calculation. This also means more costly on disk arrays as you would have to make available double quantity of the disks. Across the board it offers reasonable performance but slightly lower than what RAID5 allows. It can expensive, too.
Nested (Hybrid) RAID
There are also arrays that employ the combinations of standard RAID levels by attaching both the standard RAID level numbers before and after a “+”, such as 0+1.
RAID 0+1: This refers to striping of data in mirrored sets. Although this has become more complex for ordinary users, this allows fault tolerance and improved performance.
RAID 1+0: This refers to mirroring of data in a striped set.
RAID 5+1: This refers to the set-up with mirrored striped set and with distributed parity.
The above descriptions and set-up explanations are not all the time applicable to low-end users and may not even be comprehensible to some high-end computing professionals. Nevertheless, knowing that there are possible disk solutions to your computing needs is always a useful piece of information.
RAID Test Results vs. Single Drive:
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Starter Cultures for Making Fermented Sausages
Starter cultures ferment sausages, develop color and flavor and provide safety. The addition of any commercial culture to the sausage mix provides a safety hurdle, as those millions of freshly introduced bacteria start competing for food (moisture, oxygen, sugar, protein) with a small number residing in meat bacteria, preventing them from growing. It may be called a biological competition among bacteria. Bactoferm™ F-LC has the ability to control Listeria monocytogenes at the same time as it performs as a classic starter culture for fermented sausages.
Cultures can be classified into the following groups:
• lactic acid producing cultures (fermentation)
• color fixing and flavor forming cultures (color and flavor)
• surface coverage cultures (yeasts and molds)
• bio-protective cultures (producing bacteriocins). You may think of bacteriocins as some kind of antibiotics which kill unwanted bacteria. Some of the lactic acid cultures (Pediococcus) possess antimicrobial properties which are very effective in inhibiting not only Staph.aureus but also Salmonella, Cl.botulinum and other microorganisms, including yeasts.
The advantages of starter cultures are numerous:
• they are of known number and quality. This eliminates a lot of guessing as to whether there is enough bacteria inside meat to start fermentation or whether a strong curing color will be obtained.
• cultures are optimized for different temperature ranges that allow production of slow, medium or fast-fermented products. Traditionally produced sausages needed three (or more) months to make, starter cultures make this possible within weeks or even days.
• production of fermented sausages does not depend on "secrets" and a product of constant quality can be produced year round in any climatic zone as long as proper natural conditions or fermenting/drying chambers are available.
• they provide safety by competing for food with undesirable bacteria thus inhibiting their growth.
Although commercially grown starter cultures have been around since 1957, it is only recently that sausage equipment and supplies companies carry them in catalogs. As the hobbyist-sausage maker becomes more educated in finer aspects of the art of sausage making he will undoubtably start making more fermented sausages at home.
The most important microorganisms used in starter cultures are:
Microorganism Family Species Use
Lactic Acid Bacteria Lactobacillus L.plantarum acid production
L.pentosum acid production
L.sakei acid production
L.curvatus acid production
Pediococcus P.acidilactici acid production/(fast fermenting)
Curing Bacteria (color and flavor forming) Kocuria (Micrococcus) K.varians color and flavor
Staphylococcus S.xylosus color and flavor
S.carnosus color and flavor
Yeasts Debaryomeces D.hansenii flavor
Candida C.famata flavor
Molds Penicillium P.nalgiovense white mold
P.chrysogenum white mold
In addition to being very strong competitors for nutrients against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, lactic acid bacteria are known to produce compounds named "bacteriocins" which can act against other microorganisms. Pediococcus acidilactici and Lactobacillus curvatus are known bacteriocins producers especially effective against the growth of Listeria monocytogenes.
Chr. Hansen starter cultures
There are many manufacturers of starter cultures that are used in Europe and in the USA and we are going to list products made by the Danish manufacturer "Chr. Hansen" as their products demonstrate superior quality and are easily obtained from American distributors of sausage making equipment and supplies. Even more the company offers wonderful technical support and we are deeply indebted to them for detailed specifications about their products.
5.3.1 Starter cultures for traditional fermented sausages
In the production of traditional style sausages, the fermentation profile must have a short lag phase in order to ensure the growth of the added starter culture at the expense of the unwanted bacteria. The acidification profile must be rather flat not going below pH 4.8-5.0 at any time. This will ensure that Staphylococci maintain their activity over a longer period of time; foremost their nitrate reductase and flavor forming activities.
Culture name Bacteria included Characteristics
T-RM-53 Lactobacillus sakei, Staphylococcus carnosus Aromatic cultures with mild acidification
T-SP Pediococcus pentosaceus, Staphylococcus carnosus
T-SPX Pediococcus pentosaceus, Staphylococcus xylosus
T-D-66 Lactobacillus plantarum, Staphylococcus carnosus Aromatic cultures with intermediate acidification
T-SC-150 Lactobacillus sakei, Staphylococcus carnosus
T-SL Lactobacillus pentosus, Staphylococcus carnosus
The cultures listed above are specifically selected for traditional fermentation profiles applying fermentation temperatures not higher than 24º C (75º F).
5.3.2 Starter cultures for fast fermented sausages
In the production of North European and US style sausages the fermentation profile must have a very short lag phase in order to rapidly on-set fermentation and exibit a fast drop in pH to below 5.3 within 30 hours as a minimum. This ensures an efficient inhibition of unwanted bacteria and an early on-set of fast drying. Total production time is typically less than 2 weeks.
Culture name Bacteria included Characteristics
F-RM-52 Lactobacillus sakei, Staphylococcus carnosus Fast cultures targeted for fermentation temperatures
22-32º C
(70-90º F)
F-RM-7 Lactobacillus sakei, Staphylococcus carnosus, Staph.xylosus
F-SC-111 Lactobacillus sakei, Staphylococcus carnosus
F-1 Pediococcus pentosaceus, Staphylococcus xylosus
LP Pediococcus pentosaceus
LL-1 Lactobacillus curvatus
CSL Lactobacillus curvatus, Micrococcaceae spp.
LL-2 Lactobacillus curvatus
F-2 Lactobacillus farciminis, Staph.carnosus, Staph.xylosus
LHP Pediococcus acililactici, Pediococcus pentosaceus Extra fast cultures targeted for fermentation temperatures
26-38º C, (80-100º F)
CSB Pediococcus acililactici, Micrococcaceae spp. Extra fast cultures targeted for fermentation temperatures
30-45º C, (86-115º F)
F-PA Pediococcus acililactici
HPS Pediococcus acililactici Very fast cultures targeted for fermentation temperatures
32-45º C, (90-115º F)
In the US style fast fermented sausages (35-45º C, 95-115º F, very fast pH drop, low final pH <4.8), Staphylococci are not added to the culture since they generally do not survive such fast pH lowering.
5.3.3 Starter cultures for enhancing flavor and nitrate reduction
Sausages fermented with a chemical acidifier such as Gdl or encapsulated acid instead of lactic acid bacteria generally require added Staphylococci or Micrococcaceae spp. to obtain acceptable flavor and color. Those single strain cultures are recommended in all sausage products in need of extra flavor or nitrate reductase activity. S. carnosus is more salt tolerant than S. xylosus and convey a more intense flavor in fast fermented products.
Culture name Bacteria included Characteristics
S-B-61 Staphylococcus carnosus Flavor and color enhancing cultures
S-SX Staphylococcus xylosus
CS Micrococcaceae spp.
5.3.4 Starter cultures for surface coverage
Mold present on traditional sausages prevents mytoxin formation by wild molds. It allows for uniform drying and contributes positively towards flavor.
Culture name Bacteria included Characteristics
M-EK-72 Penicillium nalgiovense White mold culture for surface treatment
M-EK-4 Penicillium nalgiovense
M-EK-6 Penicillium nalgiovense
M-EK-4 grows better at lower temperature and humidity and gives a marbled appearance. M-EK-6 is more dense and develops a more fluffy coverage. M-EK-72 gives a strong growth and high fluffy coverage when high humidity and temperature is available.
5.3.5 Starter cultures for bio-protection
Bactoferm™ F-LC is a patented culture blend capable of acidification as well as preventing growth of Listeria. The culture produces pediocin and bavaricin (kind of "antibiotics") and that keeps Listeria monocytogenes at safe levels. Low fermentation temperature (<25º C, 77º F) results in a traditional acidification profile whereas high fermentation temperature (35-45º C, 95-115º F) gives a US style product.
Culture name Bacteria included Characteristics
F-LC Staphylococcus xylosus, Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus curvatus Culture for acidification and prevention of Listeria
Meat culture with bioprotective properties for production of fermented sausages with short production type where a higher count of L.monocytogenes bacteria may be suspected. Bactoferm™ F-LC has the ability to control listeria at the same time as it performs as a classic starter culture for fermented sausages. Use dextrose as this culture ferments sugar slowly.
How to choose the correct culture
In order to choose the correct culture the following advise may be used as general guidelines:
1. What style of sausage is produced?
• Traditional South and North European: choose cultures in paragraph 5.3.1.
• North European fast fermented: choose cultures in paragraph 5.3.2.
• US style: choose the extra fast and very fast cultures in paragraph 5.3.2.
2. A very short on-set of fermentation is needed
• Choose a frozen culture instead of a freeze-dried culture.
• Increase the amount of culture.
3. The salt-in-water percentage in the fresh mince is:
• > 6% : avoid F-1, LP, T-SP and T-SPX.
4. The type of sugar is:
• Glucose: all cultures will ferment.
• Sucrose: avoid T-RM-53, T-SC-150, F-RM-52 and F-SC-111.
These cultures contain Lactobacillus sakei, which does not ferment sugar well (see the table on page 43). This fact can be used to our advantage by adding sugars which will not be fermented, yet they will remain in the sausage contributing to a sweeter taste.
5. Nitrate is added as a color forming agent to the mince
• Choose cultures in paragraph 5.3.1. and 5.3.2 and adjust the process correspondingly to traditional/slow fermentation.
• Add extra Staphylococci or Micrococcaceae spp. from paragraph 5.3.1 to enhance nitrate reductase activity
6. A product with an intense flavor
• Choose traditional technology and cultures from paragraph 5.3.1
• Add extra Staphylococci or Micrococcaceae spp. from paragraph 5.3.3. to enhance flavor formation
• Technical information sheets provide the recommended temperatures for fermentation, however, bacteria will also ferment at lower temperatures, just more slowly. For example, the technical information sheet for T-SPX lists temperatures as 26-38º C, optimum being 32º C. T-SPX will ferment as well at 20-24º C which is not uncommon for "European" style sausages, and 48 hours or more is not atypical.
• When freeze-dried cultures are used it is recommended to disperse them in water. Adding 25 grams of powdered culture to 200 kg (440 lbs) of meat makes uniform distribution quite challenging. That comes to about 1/2 teaspoon to 4.5 kg (10 lbs) of meat and the culture must be very uniformly dispersed otherwise defects will occur later on. For those reasons it is advisable, especially at home conditions, to mix 1/2 tsp of culture in 1/2 cup (150 ml) of distilled water and then pour it down all over the meat. Any tap water which is chlorine free will do, the problem is that different cities, or countries, sanitize water in different ways. Chlorine will kill bacteria and the process will suffer. For this reason it is recommended to use distilled water.
• Mixing freeze-dried cultures with cold water for 15-30 minutes before use allows them to "wake up" and to react with meat and sugar faster when introduced during the mixing process.
• Cultures distributed by Internet online companies are of the freeze dried type.
• Once fast-fermented starter culture or Gdl has been added to the sausage mix, the mix should be filled into casings.
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The ancient Japanese art of origami is useful for making more than just pretty papercranes and owls. In the future, the practice may be used to produce new human organs–an alternative to the 3-D printed organs that scientists are working on today.
Carol Livermore, a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University, has long studied microfabrication techniques, like the MEMS systems used to make computer chips. But fabricating human organs has proved to be particularly challenging.
Part of my research has included assembling individual objects that move independently, like cells, into positions on 2-D surfaces,” Livermore explains. Getting those cells from a flat surface into a 3-D surface isn’t easy, however. “Sometimes the best ideas come out of moments of profound frustration,” she laughs. “How do you turn a 2-D structure into a 3-D structure? The first thing I thought was a cinnamon roll–you roll it up, you can fold it.”
So Livermore, along with a group of scientists and artists (Robert Lang, a prominent origami artist; Roger Alperin, an origami mathematician; Sangeeta Bhatia, an MIT professor who specializes in tissue engineering; and Martin Culpepper, a precision mechanics professor at MIT), set out on a mission to figure out how to turn a cluster of 2-D cells into a functional liver. The research is in the very early stages–Livermore and her team aren’t yet working with real cells–but there are already hurdles.
One issue: Biological work has to be done in a clean environment, but when you make origami, you fold paper on a table and press down creases with your fingers. “We can’t do that to make tissues because we need it to stay appropriately clean so we don’t contaminate it,” says Livermore. “We will wind up touching it at some level, but we want to minimize touch, and there are things that could happen via sterile probes held by humans or machines.”
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The Irish Republican Army's contemptible murders of two Protestant policemen are not only a tremendous setback for the cause of peace in Northern Ireland, they pose an immediate danger to Northern Ireland's people. Every summer, Protestant groups hold marches commemorating a 1690 Protestant victory over Catholics. The marches, which peak in early July, are often routed through Catholic neighborhoods, setting off a spiral of injury, looting, property damage and sometimes deaths. The I.R.A. murders this week took place very near the site of last summer's worst riots, and seem designed to provoke retaliatory violence from the largely Protestant groups loyal to London. All sides must scramble to prevent violence this year.
Even before the murders, the British Government had taken some constructive steps to defuse the tension. The Secretary for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, has repeatedly met with residents, both Catholic and Protestant, urging them to speak to each other and reach a compromise on parade routes. The largest parade group, the Orange Order, wrote a letter to residents of a Catholic neighborhood where violence was particularly bad last year, explaining its desire to march. Catholics wrote back, but the two groups still will not talk face to face. Catholic leaders, for their part, should cancel a confrontational outdoor festival planned to coincide with the Orange Order march and persuade residents to protest peacefully and avoid baiting police.
Last year's violence, among the worst in decades, was exacerbated by the behavior of Northern Ireland's largely Protestant police force. When police banned a march through a Catholic neighborhood, Protestants rioted for four days. The police then gave in and allowed the march. Catholic riots followed. This year the British Government needs to take responsibility for parade routes and crowd control strategies rather than leaving such decisions to Northern Ireland's police. It must also act upon an internal British police investigation that concluded that Northern Ireland's police were poorly trained and equipped during the marches.
Prime Minister Tony Blair should also ban plastic bullets, which the police have not used elsewhere in Britain. Police fired nearly 6,000 of these potentially deadly bullets during last year's marches, nearly 90 percent of them at Catholics.
Mr. Blair is right to repudiate the I.R.A.'s murders by cutting off all formal contacts with Sinn Fein, the I.R.A.'s political wing. The I.R.A. will have to embrace the peace process and begin a real cease-fire before Sinn Fein can take a seat at peace talks. But London should combine firmness on this issue with a mature policy to prevent parade violence. This is the best answer to the I.R.A.'s apparent efforts to provoke destruction and death in the marches of the weeks ahead. |
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American English: /ˈkælkjəˌleɪt/
British English: /ˈkalkjʊleɪt/
Translation of calculate in Spanish:
transitive verb
• 1 (compute, estimate) he calculated the risks
calculó los riesgos
Example sentences
• As most deals do not go through agencies, it is difficult to calculate the total number of hotels sold.
• This impression can be assessed quantitatively by calculating a likelihood ratio as before.
• Given the number of coffee cups to dispense, the program is required to calculate the amount and display to the user.
• 2 (aim, design)to be calculated to + infinitivehis remarks were calculated to offend
lo dijo con la intención or el próposito de ofender
policies calculated to appeal to younger voters
medidas pensadas or planeadas para atraer el voto de los jóvenes
Example sentences
• The sanctions are calculated to go into effect on the eve of a presidential election year.
• Odds ratios and corresponding confidence intervals were calculated to measure the main effect of diabetes on eating disorders.
• Confidence intervals were also calculated to confirm the effect size.
intransitive verb
Phrasal verbs
calculate on
verb + preposition + object
you can calculate on about 20 replies
calcula que llegarán unas 20 respuestas
I'd calculated on arriving at about seven
había pensado or planeado llegar a eso de las siete
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• Address: 42 Avenue des Gobelins
Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins
Housed in a series of 17th-century buildings on Avenue des Gobelins, the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins is a government-run tapestry factory and museum dedicated to showcasing the historic art of tapestry weaving and traditional crafts.
Named after the Gobelin dynasty, a family of dyers who shot to fame after discovering a much sought-after scarlet dye in the 15th-century, the district became renowned throughout the 17th-century for producing tapestries under royal patronage of Henri IV and later, Louis XIV. It was Colbert, Louis XIV's minister who first formed the Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la Couronne (Royal Cabinet-Makers), bringing together the tapestry, cabinet and goldsmiths workshops in the area that today is home to the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.
Today the historic district is still a working entity, preserving the art form by producing and restoring tapestries from around the world. Although normally closed to visitors, several weekly guided tours allow visitors the chance to peek inside and watch the craftsmen at work. Visitors can learn about the origins and development of the historic crafts; discover how the dyes were found and produced; understand the years of work that goes into producing a single tapestry; and see the 17th-century weaving techniques still in use today. Displays of intricate hand weaving offer an insight into the painstaking process and there are often hands-on workshops available where visitors can try out their tapestry skills on an ancient loom. Also on site is the Galerie des Gobelins, displaying the royal factory collections and hosting a series of temporary exhibitions of ancient and contemporary art.
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[Haskell] Newbie: what are the advantages of Haskell?
Udo Stenzel u.stenzel at web.de
Sat Apr 28 11:17:20 EDT 2007
phiroc at free.fr wrote:
> what are the advantages of haskell over semi-functional programming languages
> such as Perl, Common Lisp, etc.?
A fundamental building block that is superior in maintainability and
reusability to objects and procedures, a type system that is actually of
help and not a hindrance, and mathematical purity.
> What are the mysterious "side effects" which are avoided by using Haskell, which
> everyone talks about? Null pointers?
Side effects are changes made to the environment by a procedure (beyond
returning its result), particularly those that you forgot about, that
get executed in the wrong order, and that change values under your feet
when you least expect it.
> Don't you ever get null pointers in Haskell, including when doing IO?
What's a pointer? But we do get bottoms sometimes (rarely, the type
system often prevents you from stumbling over them), which is simply the
price you have to pay if you want a Turing-complete system.
> Aren't Haskell's advantages outweighed by its complexity (Monads, etc.) and
> rigidity?
You know about Design Patterns? *Those* are complex. Dozens of
Rube-Goldberg-Machines designed to circumvent inadequacies in languages
that should have been abandoned 20 years ago.
If you try to apply the Design Patterns book to Haskell, half of the
patterns vanish, because they solve non-problems, most of the rest
becomes much simpler and only a few are added. One particularly simple
new pattern is the Monad, which the gang of four couldn't discover for
lack of a language powerful enough to express it. (Monad easily
subsumes Composite, generalizing and simplifying it in the process. The
application of Monad to IO is straight forward, and then Monad also
subsumes Command.)
Btw, there's nothing rigid about Haskell. I can adapt my Haskell code
much quicker to new requirements than is possible with either C or Perl,
and the Haskell code has the added benefit of still working after the
> Last but not least, I would like to learn from those among you who are former
> PERL developers, why you switched to Haskell.
Because Perl is a royal PITA and Haskell is not. Haskell also has no
inclination to yell "ARRAY(0xdeadbeef)" or "no method 5 in package
FooImpl" at me instead of producing sensible output (see also: type
I can ALWAYS build faster code if it doesn't have to work. (unknown source)
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Ask the Expert
Q: Who is at risk for developing chronic wounds?
A: Dr. John Crew: People with one or more of the following are at risk for developing chronic wounds:
• Chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, severe burns, cancer or AIDS
• Vascular disease, including heart disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, anemia, varicose veins or deep venous thrombosis
• Elderly, immobile or obese people are at a greater risk
• Unhealthy lifestyle or habits like smoking, poor diet and hygiene or lack of exercise
• Previous history of ulcers, multiple surgeries or prolonged periods of bed rest
• Weak immune system, as in patients taking corticosteroids, chemotherapy or radiotherapy
Q: What causes venous stasis ulcers?
A: Dr. John Crew: Venous ulcers are the most common type of ulcers occurring in the lower limbs, accounting for more than half of all ulcer cases.
Venous leg ulcers occur when the one-way valves of the veins fail to maintain the blood flow toward the heart and prevent any back flow. This problem with blood flow is known as venous insufficiency. The venous system in the lower limbs includes the deep, superficial and perforator veins. The deep veins lie between the muscles, the superficial veins in the upper layers just below the skin, and the perforator veins are located in between, connecting the other two types of veins. In damaged valves, the blood backs up and pools in the veins, building up pressure, causing edema, which prevents nutrients and oxygen in the blood from reaching the body tissue. Eventually, the tissue breaks down and forms an ulcer.
To help prevent venous leg ulcers, these measures may be followed:
• Avoid long periods of standing or sitting
• Raise the legs above the heart and use compression stockings as often as possible
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes regular moderate exercise, a healthy diet (low in fat, rich in fruits and vegetables) and reduce body weight, if overweight
• Quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption and try to stay active
• Inspect the lower limbs daily and look for any color changes or cracks in the skin
Q: What is Lymphedema?
A: Dr. John Crew: Edema is the medical term for swelling. Lymphedema is chronic edema (usually in the extremities but not confined to) caused by damage to the lymphatic system. Lymphedema is an accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the interstitial tissue that causes swelling, most often in the arm(s) and/or leg(s), and occasionally in other parts of the body. The lymphatic system is the bodies filtering system that aids in destroying pathogens, filtering wastes, removes excessive fluid, and assists the circulatory system to deliver nutrients, oxygen, and hormones.
Q: What are the causes of chronic wounds?
A: Dr. James Stavosky: Conditions such as diabetes, poor circulation, edema of the legs, and pressure can all be causes of chronic wounds. There can be many causes for a wound to become chronic. The most common are infection, poor blood supply and pressure.
Q: What is the best way to treat wounds?
A: Dr. James Stavosky: When wounds become chronic, they are difficult to treat at home. They should be evaluated by a medical professional. And if they’ve been there longer than a month, it should be seen by wound care professional or at the wound care center.
Q: What are the complications of chronic wounds?
A: Dr. James Stavosky: Chronic wounds heal very slowly. This increases their likelihood of becoming infected. Infection can lead to gangrene, which then could lead to amputation. If the chronic wound becomes worse, it could lead to loss of life.
A: Dr. James Stavosky: It is important to inspect your feet daily. You should look for calluses, changes in color, hotspots, and wounds. If you are unable to inspect them yourself, you should have a family member or caregiver do it for you. Proper shoe gear is important for preventing increased pressure in your shoes that could lead to wounds |
By • February 22, 2005 • Topics:
Why did the crowds cheer Jesus when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey shortly before His crucifixion—but then turn against Him and demand the Roman governor put Him to death? Why did they change their minds?
Yes, Jesus was enthusiastically welcomed when He rode into Jerusalem just days before His death. (Traditionally this day is called “Palm Sunday” because many in the crowd cut palm branches and waved them as a sign of honor.)
But soon many turned against Jesus and demanded His death: “‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!'” (Matthew 27:22). These weren’t necessarily the same people who had welcomed Him–but the reversal is still striking. Were they disappointed because He refused to establish an earthly political kingdom? Probably. They may also have disliked His demand that they repent.
It’s easy to condemn those who condemned Jesus–but would we have acted any differently? We too are sinners, and we too have rebelled against God. But the central message of Easter is that God still loves us, and because of Christ we can be forgiven. May you welcome Him into your life during this holy season.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The CSB Investigating Printing Ink Manufacturing Catastrophic Explosion
Currently the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is investigating the October, 9, 2012 catastrophic explosion at a East Rutherford, NJ printing ink manufacturer resulting in three workers hospitalized. In a recent news account according to Daniel Horowitz, Managing Director of CSB, "will be looking for anything that could have caused an undue amount of dust to accumulate,"
Printing inks are made of four basic components
Pigments - to color the ink and make it opaque (i.e. carbon black, etc)
Resins - which bind the ink together into a film and bind it to the printed surface
Solvents - to make the ink flow so that it can be transferred to the printing surface
Additives - which alter the physical properties of the ink to suit different situations
One of the main ingredients is the carbon black used as a pigment in the printing ink manufacturing process. No information has been released yet whether or not carbon black was the root fuel source in the incident occurring in the facility pre-mix room. CSB investigators have collected dust samples for lab testing to determine the combustibility of the dust.
Industry Safety Guideline: Carbon black does not pose an explosion risk?
"There has been no recorded industry experience to suggest that carbon black dust concentrations pose an explosion hazard" International Carbon Black Association (ICBA) (page 8 .pdf) In contrast, according to a recent news account, "...carbon compound ignited, causing an explosion and a fire in ductwork ..." Will this incident be a wake-up call for industry handling and processing carbon black to reevaluate their fire and explosion risks?
Recognizing dust explosion hazards of carbon black appears to be a global problem. For example, on the governmental agency web page for the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) there is an alarming statement noting carbon black is not a dust explosion hazard.
"In general, pure carbon black is difficult to ignite, does not undergo spontaneous combustion, and is not a dust explosion hazard."
Yet also conflicting info on the same CCOHS web page where carbon black is a dust explosion hazard
"Dust explosions may occur if the oil content exceeds 13% (MINIMUM CLOUD IGNITION TEMPERATURE reported as 730 deg C). If air concentrations exceed 50 or 60 g/m3, carbon black may explode in the presence of a high energy ignition source, such as a gas explosion."
In contrast the explosive properties of carbon black is recognized in this MSDS Specialty Carbon Blacks used in the printing inks market .PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES (page 6 .pdf) MEC: 50 g/m^3, Dust Explosion Classification: ST 1 (VDI 2263), Pmax: 10 bar at an initial starting pressure of 1 bar. Higher starting initial pressures will yield higher explosion pressures. Maximum Rate of Pressure Rise: 30 - 400 bar/sec, Method: VDI 2263 and ASTM E1226-88 Another helpful MSDS Carbon Black "Thermal Carbon Black"- Cancarb Limited-Explosive Properties: http://www.cancarb.com/pdf3/MSDS_English.pdf (page 7 .pdf) Revised Date: November 30, 2011
The story gets more interesting with October 4, 1999, Titan Tire Corporation accident "While running a batch of stock, a mixer ejected a large cloud of carbon black dust into the work area and up to the ceiling of the building. The dust ignited, causing a large flash fire that seriously burned two employees"
"Respondent relies on a publication by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (Exh. R-1). This is a document apparently taken from the internet that indicates that dust explosions may occur if oil content exceeds 13 percent and that carbon blacks with over 8 percent volatiles may be an explosion hazard. "
"Respondent's employees testified that the oil content was less than 6 percent by weight, but did not address the other ignitable chemicals. It presented no evidence about the four other ignitable or volatile substances in the carbon black. Knowing it had 6 percent oil content in the mixture, along with other ignitible substances, respondent should have taken reasonably diligent steps to assure that total volatiles did not exceed 8 percent or, alternatively, that its electrical equipment, fixtures and outlets in the #1 Banbury mixer area were approved for a Class II, Division 2 location."
In addition to volatile percentage it is extremely important to identify and evaluate additional ignitable substances also part of the chemical composition of carbon black. Seems industry is still having carbon black fires and explosions solely relying on outdated safety guidelines that doesn't provide comprehensive hazard communication as noted in the ICBA and CCOHS content.
CSB has investigated explosions at printing ink manufacturing facilities in the past. For example, completed CSB Investigation of a printing ink and paint manufacturing facility at CAI / Arnel >> Chemical Plant Explosion, Danvers, MA, November 22, 2006 INVESTIGATION REPORT, MAY 2008, CONFINED VAPOR CLOUD EXPLOSION (10 Injured, and 24 Houses and Six Businesses Destroyed) Interesting, nitrocellulose used in the CAI printing ink manufacturing process. More uses for nitrocellulose than just smokeless powder (guncotton) (:
Why carbon black is not recognized as a combustible dust by many stakeholders?
"Carbon black presents a fire rather than a dust explosion hazard. None of the 19 samples were ignited by the electric spark source; all but sample 73 ignited in the furnace." U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, 1965
"Pressure and rates of pressure rise developed by a dust explosion are determined in a closed steel Hartmann tube. Ignition of the dust cloud is normally produced by a 24-watt continuous spark source. For dusts that ignite with difficulty, the heated coil or gun cotton source is tried." Laboratory equipment and test procedures for evaluating explosibility of dusts. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, 1960
So should dusts not ignited by an electric spark source in a closed steel Hartmann tube a half a century ago still “not” be considered a combustible dust in a 21st century hazard assessment? Interesting all the industrial carbon blacks (acetylene black, channel black, lamp black, furnace black, and thermal black) have the same CAS 1333-86-4.
"CAS Numbers are not related to chemistry. A CAS Number has no inherent meaning but is assigned in sequential, increasing order when the substance is identified by CAS scientists for inclusion in the CAS REGISTRY database." "The lowest numeric CAS registry number is 50-00-0 corresponding to formaldehyde. Thus formaldehyde was potentially the first compound to receive a CAS registry number"
Users of MSDS's beware in solely relying on CAS registry numbers as this does not provide comprehensive ignition sensitivity and explosive severity data in assessing fire and explosion risks of the different types of carbon black produced by partial combustion or thermal decomposition of gaseous or liquid hydrocarbons.
Volatile printing ink solvents + combustible dust = hybrid mixture?
CSB US Ink catastrophic explosion investigation.
"Horowitz said it's too early to know if carbon black dust fueled the explosion, adding investigators also are looking at a resin binder — a filmy adhesive — present in the area."
Primary chemical components in the manufacturing of printing ink in addition to carbon blacks (pigments) and resins (vehicle or varnish) include additives and solvent. Examples of solvents include mineral oil, other aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, esters, and alcohols. So what is the probability of occurrence in developing hybrid mixtures in the printing ink manufacturing process?
CSB investigators have their work cut out for them in determining root and contributing cause as a result of their key findings. The process becomes very intriguing in determining root fuel sources with the potential explosive atmospheres generated from solid and liquid ingredients in manufacturing printing ink with a myriad of permutations depending on the specific ink processed in the pre-mix room.
Hopefully this discussion will provide insight on the combustibility of carbon black processed and handled in all sectors. If combustible dust is found to be involved in ignition it will put a new face on the OSHA Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) that doesn't recognize printing ink manufacturing NAICS 325910 as having a potential for combustible dust related incidents. This could be reminiscent of the Hoeganaes CSB Case Study where CSB recommended:
"Revise the Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) to add industry codes for facilities that generate metal dusts (e.g., North American Industrial Classification System, NAICS, code 331111 Iron and Steel Mills, and other applicable codes not currently listed). Send notification letters to all facilities nationwide under these codes to inform them of the hazards of combustible metal dusts and NEP coverage."
What is Ink? (US Ink)
How is News Ink Manufactured (US Ink)
Printing Ink Technology and Manufacture (New Zealand Institute of Chemistry)
Ink Mixing, Pre-Dispersing, Grinding, etc. (Netzsch)
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Arguments for Atheism
In this section, "arguments for atheism" means "arguments for the nonexistence of God." (Worried about the logic of "proving a negative"? Click here.) In the jargon of the philosophy of religion, such arguments are known as "atheological arguments." The argument from evil (sometimes referred to as 'the problem of evil') is by far the most famous of such arguments, but it is by no means the only such argument. Indeed, in the 1990s philosophers developed a flurry of atheological arguments; arguably the most famous of such arguments is the argument from reasonable nonbelief (also known as the argument from divine hiddenness).
There are two types of atheological arguments:
• Logical Arguments attempt to show that the concept of God is self-contradictory or logically inconsistent with some known fact
• Evidential Arguments attempt to show that certain known facts that are consistent with theism nevertheless provide evidence against it
Common Arguments (1997) by mathew
Some common arguments for and against the atheist position, which crop up time and time again—each with one or more of the standard responses, and which don't fit neatly into either of the above two categories. A "must read" if you think you have a good argument and you want to know if it has already been discussed.
Modal Arguments for Atheism (2012) by Ryan Stringer
In addition to evidential and logical arguments for atheism, there is a lesser-known third kind of argument. Modal arguments for atheism conclude that atheism is necessarily true on the basis of a mere possibility claim. In this paper Ryan Stringer considers how modal arguments for atheism contribute to the philosophical defense of atheism, concluding that modal arguments for atheism either (a) positively support atheism or (b) at least undermine modal arguments for theism.
Jeffery Jay Lowder maintains this page. |
Friday, May 14, 2010
HERITAGE FOUNDATION- Unfettered Immigration = Poverty For Americans
Unfettered Immigration = POVERTY FOR AMERICANS
By Robert Rector | May 16, 2006
This paper focuses on the net fiscal effects of immigration with particular emphasis on the fiscal effects of low skill immigration. The fiscal effects of immigration are only one aspect of the impact of immigration. Immigration also has social, political, and economic effects. In particular, the economic effects of immigration have been heavily researched with differing results. These economic effects lie beyond the scope of this paper. Overall, immigration is a net fiscal positive to the government’s budget in the long run: the taxes immigrants pay exceed the costs of the services they receive. However, the fiscal impact of immigrants varies strongly according to immigrants’ education level. College-educated immigrants are likely to be strong contributors to the government’s finances, with their taxes exceeding the government’s costs. By contrast, immigrants with low education levels are likely to be a fiscal drain on other taxpayers. This is important because half of all adult illegal immigrants in the U.S. have less than a high school education. In addition, recent immigrants have high levels of out-of-wedlock childbearing, which increases welfare costs and poverty. An immigration plan proposed by Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) would provide amnesty to 9 to 10 million illegal immigrants and put them on a path to citizenship (THERE ARE PROBABLY NEARLY 40 MILLION ILLEGALS HERE NOW). Once these individuals become citizens, the net additional cost to the federal government of benefits for these individuals will be around $16 billion per year. Further, once an illegal immigrant becomes a citizen, he has the right to bring his parents to live in the U.S. The parents, in turn, may become citizens. The long-term cost of government benefits to the parents of 10 million recipients of amnesty could be $30 billion per year or more (CALIFORNIA PUTS OUT $20 BILLION A YEAR IN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ILLEGALS).
In the long run, the Hagel/Martinez bill, if enacted, would be the largest expansion of the welfare state in 35 years.
The Fiscal Impact of Immigration One important question is the fiscal impact of immigration (both legal and illegal). Policymakers must ensure that the interaction of welfare and immigration policy does not expand the welfare-dependent population, which would hinder rather than help immigrants and impose large costs on American society. This means that immigrants should be net contributors to government: the taxes they pay should exceed the cost of the benefits they receive. In calculating the fiscal impact of an individual or family, it is necessary to distinguish between public goods and private goods. Public goods do not require additional spending to accommodate new residents.[44] The clearest examples of government public goods are national defense and medical and scientific research. The entry of millions of immigrants will not raise costs or diminish the value of these public goods to the general population. Other government services are private goods; use of these by one person precludes or limits use by another. Government private goods include direct personal benefits such as welfare, Social Security benefits, Medicare, and education. Other government private goods are “congestible” goods.[45] These are services that must be expanded in proportion to the population. Government congestible goods include police and fire protection, roads and sewers, parks, libraries, and courts. If these services do not expand as the population expands, there will be a decrease in the quality of service. An individual makes a positive fiscal contribution when his total taxes paid exceed the direct benefits and congestible goods received by himself and his family.[46] The Cost of Amnesty Federal and state governments currently spend over $500 billion per year on means-tested welfare benefits.[57] Illegal aliens are ineligible for most federal welfare benefits but can receive some assistance through programs such as Medicaid, In addition, native-born children of illegal immigrant parents are citizens and are eligible for all relevant federal welfare benefits. Granting amnesty to illegal aliens would have two opposing fiscal effects. On the one hand, it may raise wages and taxes paid by broadening the labor market individuals compete in; it would also increase tax compliance and tax receipts as more work would be performed “on the books,”[58] On the other hand, amnesty would greatly increase the receipt of welfare, government benefits, and social services. Because illegal immigrant households tend to be low-skill and low-wage, the cost to government could be considerable. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has performed a thorough study of the federal fiscal impacts of amnesty.[59] This study found that illegal immigrant households have low education levels and low wages and currently pay little in taxes. Illegal immigrant households also receive lower levels of federal government benefits. Nonetheless, the study also found that, on average, illegal immigrant families received more in federal benefits than they paid in taxes.[60] Granting amnesty would render illegal immigrants eligible for federal benefit programs. The CIS study estimated the additional taxes that would be paid and the additional government costs that would occur as a result of amnesty. It assumed that welfare utilization and tax payment among current illegal immigrants would rise to equal the levels among legally-admitted immigrants of similar national, educational, and demographic backgrounds. If all illegal immigrants were granted amnesty, federal tax payments would increase by some $3,000 per household, but federal benefits and social services would increase by $8,000 per household. Total federal welfare benefits would reach around $9,500 per household, or $35 billion per year total. The study estimates that the net cost to the federal government of granting amnesty to some 3.8 million illegal alien households would be around $5,000 per household, for a total federal fiscal cost of $19 billion per year.[61] Granting Amnesty is Likely to Further Increase Illegal Immigration The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 granted amnesty to 2.7 million illegal aliens. The primary purpose of the act was to decrease the number of illegal immigrants by limiting their inflow and by legalizing the status of illegal immigrants already here.[63] In fact, the act did nothing to stem the tide of illegal entry. The number of illegal aliens entering the country increased five fold from around 140,000 per year in the 1980s to 700,000 per year today. Illegal entries increased dramatically shortly after IRCA went into effect. It seems plausible that the prospect of future amnesty and citizenship served as a magnet to draw even more illegal immigrants into the country. After all, if the nation granted amnesty once why wouldn’t it do so again? The Hagel/Martinez legislation would repeat IRCA on a much larger scale. This time, nine to ten million illegal immigrants would be granted amnesty. As with IRCA, the bill promises to reduce future illegal entry but contains little policy that would actually accomplish this. The granting of amnesty to 10 million illegal immigrants is likely to serve as a magnet pulling even greater numbers of aliens into the country in the future. If enacted, the legislation would spur further increases in the future flow of low-skill migrants. This in turn would increase poverty in America, enlarge the welfare state, and increase social and political tensions. ..................................................
From the Los Angeles Times
California counties cut healthcare to illegal immigrants
With budget problems afflicting counties across the state, some have begun eliminating healthcare to illegal immigrants. Critics say this will only shift the burden to hospital emergency rooms.
By Anna Gorman
April 27, 2009
Trend could spread
But Pestronk said that shifting costs isn't the answer.
Few options
Andrews said about 4,000 people without legal residency or citizenship were receiving healthcare in the county. Although some are immigrants who have lived and worked in the area for years, he said, others are foreign natives who came to the county to receive free medical treatment.
"This decision is going to impact all of our community," he said. "It's going to create other social problems because of the impact on emergency rooms."
Seeking solutions
In Contra Costa County, which will continue treating undocumented children and pregnant women, community groups mobilized against the proposal. They helped persuade county officials to allocate additional funds to the nonprofit community clinics to help treat the 5,500 undocumented patients who will no longer be eligible for county services.
Those patients will receive primary care at the clinics, but they won't have a place to go if they need to see a specialist, such as for cancer or heart problems.
"It's a major gap," said Soren Tjernell of the Community Clinic Consortium, which represents clinics in Contra Costa and Solano counties.
Yolo County's proposal, which goes before its Board of Supervisors on May 5, would affect about 1,200 undocumented patients. Joseph Iser, who heads the county health department, said he wished that he had another source of revenue to continue services for illegal immigrants.
"Except by helping us balance the budget, it doesn't help us, it doesn't help our citizens, it doesn't help our undocumented," he said. "But if we don't have the money, we just can't afford it."
Lou Dobbs Tonight
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Republican Gov. DAVE HEINEMAN of Nebraska will discuss a bill he’s just signed that requires state and local agencies to verify the legal status of anyone trying to collect public benefits. (don’t hold your breath thinking this will ever happen in MEXIFORNIA!)
Immigration bill sticker shock $127 BILLION (dated)
A government study puts the cost of the Senate's version of reform at $127 billion over 10 years.
By Gail Russell Chaddock - Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
The price tag for comprehensive immigration reform was not a key issue when the Senate passed its bill last May. But it is now.
One reason: It took the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) - the gold standard for determining what a bill will cost - until last week to estimate that federal spending for this vast and complex bill would hit $127 billion over the next 10 years.
At the same time, federal revenues would drop by about $79 billion, according to the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation. If lawmakers fix a tax glitch, that loss would be cut in half, they add.
In field hearings across the nation this month, House GOP leaders are zeroing in on the costs of the Senate bill. It's a bid to define the issue heading into fall elections and muster support for the House bill, which focuses on border security. They say that the more people know about the Senate version, including a path to citizenship for some 11 million people now in the country illegally, the less they will be inclined to support it.
"We are now just beginning to see a glimpse of the staggering burden on American taxpayers the Reid-Kennedy immigration legislation contains," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, who convened a field hearing at the State House in Concord, N.H., Thursday on the costs of the Senate bill.
But business groups and others backing the Senate bill say that the cost to the US economy of not resolving the status of illegal immigrants and expanding guest-worker programs is higher still. "In my opinion, the fairer question is: How will illegal immigrants impact the costs of healthcare, local education, and social services without passage of comprehensive immigration reform?" said John Young, co-chairman of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform, at Thursday's hearing.
"Had we solved this problem in a truly comprehensive way in 1986 ... we would not have the daily news reporting outright shortages of farm labor threatening the very existence of agricultural industries coast to coast," he adds.
Experts are poring over the new CBO data - and coming up with radically different assessments of the social costs of reform, ranging from tens of billions of dollars higher to a net wash.
On the issue of border security - a feature in both bills - there is little disagreement. The CBO estimates that the cost of hardening US borders in the Senate bill is $78.3 billion over 10 years, or about 62 percent of the bill's total cost.
The fireworks involve new entitlement spending in the Senate version. The CBO sets the price tag for services for some 16 million new citizens and guest workers at $48.4 billion through fiscal year 2016. That includes $24.5 billion for earned income and child tax credits, $11.7 billion for Medicaid, $5.2 billion for Social Security, $3.7 billion for Medicare, and $2.4 billion for food stamps.
But it's easier to estimate the cost of a mile of fence than to assess the prospects for millions of workers, once they can work legally and claim benefits.
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While there may not be a "right" answer to this question, there are "correct" answers. A histogram is a powerful tool, and when you understand how to use it effectively, it can greatly help your photography. As you mentioned, a histogram is a representation of tonal range and distribution in a photo. The basic mechanics are as such: A histogram represents ...
For myself the easiest way to understand UniWB was the following. Most current digital cameras have twice as much green light sensors as they have reds and blues (referenced as RGBG). Now to achieve neutral gray by changing white balance, usually the red and blue channels need to be amplified more than green. Just a few examples (for Canon 350D): ...
To add to jrista's excellent answer, an histogram is god-send in bright situations where your LCD is very hard to read (eg: at noon in a field of snow, for example).
In the old fashioned darkroom we had a tool called the densitometer. It measured the density (how much light is blocked when you shine a light through) of the negative or slide. It was a bulky and expensive device, and of course it required the film to be developed so it wasn't very practical for use in the field. But we could use it in testing to ...
Most camera bodies (afiak) that display an image histogram, presents a histogram that is based on the JPEG representation of the RAW data captured by the camera sensor. If you do your post processing work with RAW images (and you should ;) ), and you use the camera's histogram display as a guide when taking pictures, then the discrepancy between the ...
I'm not a technical photographer and never made much use of the histograms that I've been seeing for the last 5 or 6 years, until this summer. I went to Israel with family this summer, and as the goal of the group was to see a lot of sites, not to be in various places with ideal photographic lighting, I took a lot of photos in midday sun. To make matters ...
The basic thing I use it for is telling at a quick glance if there is enough light. If the histogram is all on the left, it is too dark and at best you will need to do some post-processing tweaks to get a usable photo. If it is all to the right, it will probably be washed out. Note that you can recover somewhat from both of these in post-processing, but you ...
As Alan says, it's a way to get an in-camera histogram that more accurately represents the raw capture. So, the times when you would use it are when you are unsatisfied with the histograms you're getting. The very long and detailed explanation from Guillermo Luijk is here:
When you look at a picture, it can be hard to tell exactly how well the shadows and highlights fill up the range, especially if you are looking at the picture in the display of the camera. The histogram gives you an exact measure for how the image is exposed.
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This kind of question might've already been beaten to death. If so, I'm sorry for beating it some more.
I am having trouble understanding Linux executable formats and software distribution packages. There are so many different distributions of Linux itself, and it seems like every software package has been compiled separately for each distro. Why is this? I understand that some "packages" are made to install on different distros, but is the executable format for the software different?
Also, why do many Linux users prefer the command prompt versions of applications vs GUI versions? I can understand the need for small footprints, but even GUI apps can have small footprints if they're coded right.
These might be moot observations, but they get on my nerves.
share|improve this question
Package Managers & Dependencies
Most Linux distributions use package managers for software installation and removal. Package managers provide some benefits such as the possibility of using a central repository from which (almost) any piece of software can be downloaded, the organization of pieces of software into bundles that can be installed as one cohesive group, and the main benefits: automatic dependency handling and tracking what changes packages make so they can be uninstalled.
Certain pieces of software might require certain libraries or other programs to perform duties that would be redundant if it was re-implemented in that piece of software. Packages allow for the expression of these dependencies.
Differences: package formats and strategies
There exist several different package managers. Each was created because the existing ones did not meet the needs of some people. Each package manager requires packages in its own format.
Furthermore, different distributions have different requirements of the software that is included. There are a number of pieces of software that can have differing capabilities depending on options that are given when it is compiled from source code into a machine executable. Some distributions want to provide full feature sets and a rich experience while others want to provide as lean and simple an experience as possible, and there is everything in between. Also, the distribution may decide to format its directory structure differently or use a different init system. They may decide to bundle the software differently: there may be a package called "dev-utils" in two different distributions, but one version of that includes yacc while the other doesn't. Because of these different needs, the distributions choose to compile the software in different ways.
This is why even if you have a package in the correct format for your package manager, it may not work if the package was intended for a different distribution. For instance, that package might rely on yacc being installed, and it expressed that dependency through requiring the "dev-utils" package, but your "dev-utils" doesn't include yacc. Now there is a package installed with an unmet dependency.
It's not really a problem.
A big part of being a Linux distribution is maintaining a central software repository. The distribution takes care of maintaining all of this for you. This actually makes it very easy to install software. You typically use the package manager to search for and select some packages, then tell it to install them; it takes care of the rest for you. The Windows software installation process includes hunting for software on 3rd-party websites, trying to locate the appropriate download link, downloading, virus-checking, and running an install program which then asks you a bunch of irrelevant questions. That whole mess isn't the standard on Linux.
The repository can't possibly include everything
Now, there may be cases where a piece of software you require is not in your distribution's repository. The packages that are supplied by a software repository is one of the differentiating features of distributions. When you can't find the software you need in your distribution's repositories, there are three possible avenues (really, two plus a way to really screw things up).
Community Repositories
Many distributions have unofficial repositories that are maintained by people not associated with the distribution. Ubuntu calls them PPAs, Fedora calls them Fedora People Repositories. Arch Linux doesn't have a specific name for third-party repositories, but it does have its AUR, which is a collection of "recipes" for packages (note: there is only one AUR). You might first try installing a package from one of these sources since it is easy to un-install them if they don't work.
Compile from Source
If you can't find an unofficial repository with what you need, compiling from source is not hard. You need to have your distribution's development package installed; this includes basic things like a compiler, linker, parser, and other tools that are usually needed for compiling software. Then you find the source code of the project (which is almost always packaged in a .tgz or .tbz (called a "tarball"). Download it into its own directory somewhere, extract it (using tar -xf filename.tgz, and usually go into the one directory it created. In that directory may be a file called README or INSTALL. If it exists, go ahead and read it; most of them tell you to do the same thing. The next few steps are done at a command line. Run ls, and look for an executable file called configure. If it exists, run it by doing ./configure; it can take a couple of minutes sometimes. That usually runs some tests to figure out how your distribution has things setup, and it makes sure you have the tools required to compile this piece of software. The next step is to run make. This actually compiles the software, and it will likely take some time - anywhere from a few minutes to hours depending on the size of the software you're compiling. Once that is done, you run make install. This installs the software, which involves copying the products of the compilation to the appropriate places in your filesystem. After that, the software is available for use.
This was a long section, but it's summarized as "README, ./configure, make, make install". That's the routine to remember.
Install a package from another distribution (don't do this)
I list this only because it is and alternative, but it will almost certainly not end well. It is possible to install packages for other distributions, and you might find yourself wanting to do that. Well, don't. Don't do it until you understand your system very well. In fact, I'm not going to put any commands here showing how to do it even though it's possible. If you do get to that point where it seems like this is the only option, don't install the package using the package manager; instead, pull things out of the package and place them in your system manually, along with notes about what you've done so that you can undo it if necessary.
The command-line bit
Some people prefer the command line for the advantages it gives them. These can be summarized into three things:
• Ease of automation
• Speed (compared to clicking all over the place in a gui)
• Expressiveness
The biggest of these is expressiveness; there are things that can be done at a command line that are not possible in a graphical interface.
Finally, command-line instructions are frequently given in helpful forums such as this one because it is much easier to convey the correct information than giving "click-here-then-there-then-there" type instructions.
share|improve this answer
+1, awesomely detailed answer. – Shadur Oct 30 '11 at 7:41
Sorry for the long answer. If you want the quick and dirty, just read the summary.
• Executable format is the same.
• There are different package managers that are not compatible, even if the packed up programs are. (You could see a package as an installer file like .msi files).
• Basically different distributions/versions have different versions of core libraries, and for consistency and stability reasons applications need to be built against those versions. (Linux version of dll hell).
• Different distributions do things in slightly different ways, and that can in some cases be a compatibility problem.
• Command line can be faster, and the unix command line is vastly better than the Windows command line.
Package managers
First of all, package managers. The primary purpose of a package manager is to maintain a database of installed packages and the files that constitute that package.
Package managers allow for easy installation of packages, and generally also for easy removal. They also allow packages to specify various scripts that might need to be run at installation / removal to maintain system consistency (such as registering the package to some subsystem related database).
Different package managers
There are various different package managers with different strengths and weaknesses. Examples are rpm and the debian package manager (.deb files), but there are others. These package managers obviously need different formats and are thus not compatible.
Different distributions or versions
As the majority of a Linux distribution is open source there is much more code reuse than on Windows systems. An application might use a number of libraries for various parts of its functionality. Those libraries themselves often also do so, sometimes the same library.
Unfortunately, libraries exist in different versions and some of those are not compatible (especially binary compatibility for pre-compiled executables). Multiple versions can nicely coexist on Unix systems (less dll hell from that perspective), but in most cases using two different versions of a library in one running program is asking for crashes.
Binary distributions therefore often upgrade their own version to go on to new versions of various core packages (in other cases you need big updates).
Different other files
Distributions also differ in the way where particular files are located, and how the configuration is managed. Depending on the package that could have an impact on that package.
Command line
Unix primarily is a workstation and server operating system. This means that it is designed with professional system administrators in mind. Automation is an important part of the system administration toolbox and shell scripts are the way to do it. Try to add a leading 0 to 1000 file names in graphical file manager.
As administrators often administrate many machines they need to do the same things on a number of systems. Using tools like ssh it is extremely easy to perform the task on a number of systems in one go, and just wait to let the computer do the job.
Precise specification, automation and repeatability make command line much better in potential than graphical tools for administration tasks. Unix also has a number of different shells available and this competition has created extremely powerful shells that are almost incomparable with the windows command prompt.
Microsoft has actually understood this well, and offers powershell as a command line replacement, as well as the latest version of windows server is primarily command line administered.
share|improve this answer
The executable formats are all the same across distributions, but executables might require additional underlying software to work properly. If you look at Redhat-based distributions, the installation product is an rpm, which will include all of the requirements for a given piece of software, and will not by default install that software unless the requirements are met. (yum is an alternative to rpm and it is used by some Redhat-based versions). By definition, a GUI must have a much larger footprint than a command prompt interface. The underlying philosophy of UNIX is to simplify everything so that a given task will work as efficiently as possible. That is why there are so many utilities that will perform a single task with the output of that task being able to chain to the input of another task to do something else.
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To be correct, yum is not alternative, it works above rpm providing nicier interace and features like repositories. – rvs Oct 29 '11 at 15:24
Different distros have different installation prerequisites. However, there are RPMs or DEBs (or other packages for other packet management systems), that work for more than one distro. The philosophy of Linux makes source codes readily available. When compiling your own software, it's pretty much the same routine on all distros, and it's always the same .tar.gz archive you use.
Compiled RPMs are more like part of the system; an application itself, as a stand-alone entity, is meant to be distributed and compiled on every target.
Your second questions is something completely different... Well, "a lot of Linux users" prefer CLI applications for many different reasons, small memory footprint is only one reason. When using SSH, CLI applications make more sense, especially when working off-site on servers. More often than not, those servers don't have graphical environments installed. When running non-daemonized programs, they're very easy to abort. Ctrl - c, and the program is gone. Also, many programs log to console, so it's easier to debug. When programming, you're doing most of the compilation in the console. It just makes more sense for quick compile debugging. It's either that, or reading log files, sometimes, reading the console is quicker.
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Arch. Or FreeBSD, which is developed as a whole. (RHEL, SLES and similar are $upported as a whole.)
Laptop use: Mint
Usable hackability: Arch.
Sadistic hackability: Genoo.
Fun hackability: LFS.
Supportability (server): RHEL, Ubuntu LTS, FreeBSD (different than Linux).
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You may want to edit your answer to make what you are trying to say, more clear, and to correct a couple of typos/grammar mistakes. – haziz Apr 24 '12 at 7:27
Your Answer
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The Application of a Wire Rope Lubricator on Wire Ropes
The Application of a Wire Rope Lubricator on Wire Ropes
Wire cables or wire rope are made using strands of steel wires continuously twisted on a central core. There are different types of wire ropes, and these vary in terms of purpose and place of operation. Differentiating wire cables is done using things like the number of steel strands in them, the number of wires in each strand, their sizes in diameter and the grade of steel metal that was used among other parameters.
Wire Ropes and Lubrication
Wire ropes require a lot of lubrication due to the nature of their material make up, as well as their functions. They usually come lubricated but will, in the course of their functional life, require constant lubrication to keep them performing at their optimum. Wire ropes take on some serious bending, rolling and stretching that constantly deplete the lubrication present. It is for this reason that they require regular lubrication in and out so as to reduce friction, heating and breakages within the wire strands. wire rope lubricator can be carried out manually using a brush or some other form of applicant or it can ideally be done using a wire rope lubricator.
The Make Up of a Wire Rope Lubricator
A typical wire rope lubricator contains two halves of a chamber that are snugly clamped around the wire rope. Lubricant is pumped inside the chamber and as it moves along the cable, lubrication is achieved. It is basically a device that has been designed to continuously apply lubricant to wire ropes without the need for an additional hand. The chambers of these wire rope lubricators are made of metal, and they are designed to open in half in order for them to be clamped around a cable. The ends of the chambers contain split seals that form a tight seal which ensures the cavities in between the cables and the chambers are leak tight. It is inside these cavities that lubricants are pumped in at high pressure.
Benefits of Using a Wire Rope Lubricator
Other than the obvious benefit of ensuring that your wire ropes are well lubricated and thus safe from damage, wear and tear; the other benefits of using a wire rope lubricator include the following.
Faster and effortless application of lubricant.
A much cleaner and therefore safer way to apply lubricant as opposed to manual application.
Greater savings on the lubricant as spillage or overuse is minimized.
Greater penetration of lubricant within the wire strands as this is pushed in by the high pressure.
The wire rope lubricator device being portable means that it can be applied anywhere along the cable or permanently mounted to provide constant lubrication. Sponsored by group travel(gruppereiser) and company outings(firmatur). |
Properties of indifference curve, Macroeconomics
Properties of indifference curve:
Property I: Higher indifference curve gives higher utility.
351_Properties of indifference curve.png
Explanation: Since all goods are non-satiated, larger consumption of any good leads to larger utility. Thus, a commodity bundle, which consists of larger quantity of at least one good and no less consumption of any other goods, gives larger utility compared to any other commodity bundle. Consequently, higher indifference curve represents higher consumption of at least one commodity and no less consumption of any other commodity.
Property II: Indifference curves can't intersect with each other.
2433_Properties of indifference curve1.png
Explanation: Suppose two indifference curves intersect each other. By definition, along the indifference curve, utility is constant. So, consumer is indifferent between points 'A' and 'C' that lie on the same indifference curve. Similarly, consumer is indifferent between points 'B' and 'C', as they also lie on the same indifference curve. So, AIC and BIC, where 'I' denotes indifference. Now, from transitivity we have AIB i.e., point 'A' and point 'B' give the same utility to the consumer. But for given x2, x1 is larger in point 'A' compared to point 'B'. So, by the assumption of non-satiation, we have point 'A' that gives lager utility to consumer as compared to point 'B'. This contradicts the fact that point 'A' and 'B' gives the same level of utility to the consumer (as we have proved above). Therefore, when all goods are non-satiated and transitivity holds, indifference curves can't intersect.
Posted Date: 10/26/2012 2:48:22 AM | Location : United States
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Here are three (or four) field-expedient methods for drawing curves that I use frequently when building houses and furniture. Each method produces a different type of curve, so pick whichever suits your application.
These are demonstrated here in small scale, but I usually use them in the field to draw curves from 1' or 2' long up to 20' or 30' long.
Step 1: True Arc
This method produces an arc, a segment of a circle. Mark the width of the arc and the height of the arc at the midpoint. Place a nail or other restraining implement at either end of the arc.
Place two straight strips of material so that they are touching the nails and intersecting at the midpoint. Fasten them securely at the midpoint and place your marking implement in the apex. Slide the contraption to one side and then the other, keeping the marker in the apex, and the "legs" in contact with the nails.
for step 1, how would one compute the center of the circle which this arc is a part of?
You can find the radius using this equation, with "H" equaling the height or the arc, and "W" equaling the length of the chord (the width of the arc):<br> <br> R=(H<sup>2</sup> + <sup>1</sup>/<sub>4</sub>W<sup>2</sup>) / 2H<br> <br> As for the angle of the arc:<br> <br> Degrees arc=[sin(a)= <sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>W/R]*2, I think.<br> <br> <br> <br>
And the angle of the arc?
mathemathicaly this should be a function which should look like this(all characters besides x are constants): f(x)=a*x³+b*x²+c*x+d <br><br>besides that: well written ible
So... what do you call the curve produced by three points, using this method?
Sorry... using the spline or batten method, using two fixed endpoints, a uniformly flexible "batten" and a single pressure point, forming the curve, at the apex?
still the same... though it might happen that if you actually try to find the values of the constants some turn out to be zeros.... with 2 endpoints and one pressurepoint the constant a is likely to be zero but it doesn't have to
So is there an actual name (like "arc" or "catenary") for this type of curve?
well uhm... it's the graph of a cubic function... i think there are neither in english nor in german special names for something like that... (well in school we were told that this is sometimes called spline in connection to boatbuliding but thats no new information)
Thanks. Perhaps well-written, but sub-par pics.
Heavy cord (dense, not thick) works better than light cord as well. The weight smooths out the kinks in the rope better.
a thin metal chain works better too
Both correct, but string and rope are common on the jobsite, and fine chain isn't.
About This Instructable
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Response to humanitarian crises
The Government of Canada acts quickly and appropriately when it receives requests for assistance from countries facing disasters, conflicts, or acute food insecurity.
Canada's response is the result of close cooperation among Global Affairs Canada humanitarian officers, Canadian representatives in the field, representatives of other government departments, and international and Canadian humanitarian partners, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations World Food Programme.
Canada's most recent humanitarian responses
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adjective fic·ti·tious \fik-ˈti-shəs\
Simple Definition of fictitious
• : not true or real
Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary
Full Definition of fictitious
1. 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of fiction : imaginary
2. 2 a : conventionally or hypothetically assumed or accepted <a fictitious concept> b of a name : false, assumed
3. 3 : not genuinely felt
fictitiously adverb
fictitiousness noun
Examples of fictitious in a sentence
1. The characters in the book are all fictitious.
2. She gave a fictitious address on the application.
Did You Know?
Fictitious is related to the Latin word ficticius, meaning "artificial" or "feigned." It was first used in English as an antonym for "natural." For instance, a fake diamond would be referred to as a fictitious one. This use indicates the word's deeper Latin roots. Ficticius is from Latin fingere, meaning "to shape, form, or devise." Nowadays, "fictitious" is no longer used for physical things shaped by the human hand. Rather, it is typically used for imaginative creations or for feigned emotions.
Origin of fictitious
Latin ficticius artificial, feigned, from fictus
First Known Use: circa 1633
Synonym Discussion of fictitious
FICTITIOUS Defined for Kids
adjective fic·ti·tious \fik-ˈti-shəs\
Definition of fictitious for Students
1. : not real <a fictitious country>
Law Dictionary
adjective fic·ti·tious
Legal Definition of fictitious
1. 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a legal fiction
2. 2 : false
fictitiously adverb
fictitiousness noun
Seen and Heard
to manage or play awkwardly
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reduce soothe perplex disapprove
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Chapter 13: The Genetic Code and Transcription
1. Both the codons UUU and UUC specify the amino acid phenylalanine. What is the term for this phenomenon?
1. Complementary
2. Nonoverlapping
3. Degenerate
4. Universal
5. Unambiguous
2. Which of the following experiments or discoveries did not help to identify the "triplet nature" of the DNA code?
1. Frameshift mutations
2. Anticodons
3. RNA homopolymers
4. Universality of the genetic code
3. How many different codons code for an amino acid?
1. 61
2. 16
3. 64
4. 20
5. 3
• all except 3 stop codons
4. The wobble hypothesis involves
1. tRNA
2. mRNA
3. Both mRNA and rRNA
4. Both mRNA and tRNA
5. DNA and RNA
5. In prokaryotes, the initial amino acid in a polypeptide chain is the modified form of methionine, N-formylmethionine, or f-met. Which term describes the codon for f-met?
1. Nonsense codon
2. Suppression codon
3. Initiator codon
4. Termination codon
5. Anticodon
6. RNA synthesis from a DNA template is called
1. Transformation
2. Transduction
3. Transcription
4. Translation
5. Transportation
7. Which subunit of RNA polymerase establishes template binding to a promoter in prokaryotes?
1. Beta prime
2. Alpha
3. Sigma
4. Beta
5. Omaga
8. Where does transcription in prokaryotes end?
1. A gene's stop codon
2. A gene's stop anticodon
3. A region beyond the end of one or more tandem genes
4. A region called the TATA box
5. A region at the head of every gene
• prokaryotes may contain polycistronic mRNA
9. Which RNA polymerase transcribes protein-coding genes into mRNA in eukaryotes?
1. RNA polymerase I
2. RNA polymerase II
3. RNA polymerase III
4. RNA polymerase IV
5. RNA polymerase V
10. Which of the following statements about the effects of enhancers and transcription factors (TFs) on gene expression is true?
1. Both are cis-acting.
2. Both are trans-acting.
3. Enhancers are trans-acting, TFs are cis-acting.
4. Enhancers are cis-acting, TFs are trans-acting.
11. What are the two main types of posttranscriptional modifications that take place in the mRNA of eukaryotes?
1. The addition of a poly-T sequence at the 5' end of the gene and the addition of a poly-U tail at the 3' end.
2. The addition of a 7-mG cap at the 5' end of the transcript and the addition of a poly-A sequence at the 3' end of the message.
3. The addition of a poly-A sequence at the 5' end and the addition of a 7-mG cap at the 3' end of the RNA transcript.
4. The excision of the introns and the addition of a 7-mG cap to the 3' end.
12. Which of the following does not involve introns?
1. Alternative splicing
2. Ribozymes
3. Intervening sequences
4. Antisense oligonucleotides
13. Which mRNA sequence is transcribed from the DNA template strand TACGGGATT?
14. Which amino acids would be incorporated in a repeating copolymer assay involving A and U?
1. Isoleucine (ile) would be incorporated into the protein.
2. Phenylalanine (phe) would be incorporated into the protein.
3. Isoleucine and tyrosine would both be incorporated into the protein.
4. Leucine (leu) would be incorporated into the protein.
5. No amino acids are incorporated, since only stop codons are present.
15. The codons UGU and UGC both code for cysteine. The anticodon for UGU is ACA. What is the anticodon for UGC?
1. 3'-AUC-5' or CUA
2. 3'-GAA-5' or AAG
3. 3'-AGG-5' or GGA
4. 3'-ACG-5' or GCA
16. What is the consequence of a mutational event that inserts the codon UGA into a gene?
1. A partial polypeptide chain would be synthesized because the mutation would cause premature release of the polypeptide from the ribosome.
2. It would start the translation of another gene.
3. The rate of transcription would decrease.
4. The rate of transcription would increase.
17. Which term describes sequences that are similar (homologous) in different genes of the same organism or in one or more genes of related organisms?
1. GC sequences
2. Consensus sequences
3. Pribnow sequences
4. TATA sequences
5. AT sequences
18. What is the function of transcription factors?
1. To serve as sequences where RNA polymerase binds
2. To direct mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm
3. To recognize sequences within the enhancer and promoter and activate transcription
4. To initiate binding at the Shine-Dalgarno sequence
5. To inactivate repressors
• this occurs in eukaryotic RNA polymerases
19. Which of the following events does not happen during hnRNA processing?
1. A 7-methylguanosine cap is added to the 5' end of the RNA.
2. Introns are spliced out.
3. Exons are spliced together.
4. Ribosomes bind and begin translation.
20. A DNA sequence produces a mutant protein in which several amino acids in the middle of the protein differ from the normal protein. What kind of mutation could have occurred?
1. An addition or deletion mutation
2. A nonsense mutation
3. An addition and a deletion mutation
4. A silent mutation
5. No mutation
21. Which of the following statements about eukaryotic transcription is false?
1. A polycistronic mRNA may be transcribed if the gene products are used in the same pathway or needed at the same time.
2. The transcripts produced contain both exons and introns.
3. Eukaryotic promoter regions contain a TATA box and a CAAT box.
4. Transcription initiation occurs when RNA polymerase blinds to a complex of transcription factors at the TATA box. |
Caen Memorial Centre for History and Peace
There is a natural tendency when focusing on the history of warfare to reduce events such as the Allied invasion and battle for Normandy solely to terms of time and of numbers: of ships, of soldiers, of enemies, of paratroopers, of guns, of civilian deaths, of kilometers, of cities bombed to rubble.
While all three museums do well to offer the personal side of war's effects, the Caen Memorial Centre for History and Peace - possibly because of its firsthand experience with both occupation and liberation - focuses more than the others on voices, accounts and the human experiences to tell the history.
3-part exhibition
The permanent exhibition is divided into "The Second World War," "The D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy" and "The Cold War." Once I paid the admission and watched the film the museum shows as an introduction, there was a temptation to hunker down in just the D-Day Landings exhibits. But that would have been akin to starting a novel halfway through - and not reading to the end. (Without understanding the rest of the conflict up to this point, the scale, planning and secrecy required to pull off Operation Overlord - as well as the absolute necessity of its success - loses much of its punch.)
The museum opened in June 1988 and has since been expanded to include memorial gardens and the portion focusing on the Cold War, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize gallery built into the former underground command post of Gen. Wilhelm Richter, who oversaw German troops guarding the coast.
For obvious reasons, the Caen Memorial demonstrates a more detailed European view than the National WWII Museum, especially in the social and political forces that led up to the German invasions. It had the additional task of presenting life and events during an occupation from the view of the occupied, as well as more insight into the cost of liberation and the suffering following the invasion. (More than 20,000 Normandy inhabitants were killed over the summer of 1944, according to museum historians, about a third of all the French civilians killed during World War II.)
There's also a compelling gallery dedicated to "Bombed-Out Cities" that includes children's drawings from the time and emotional accounts of the destruction, most of it from during the liberation. (Caen itself was not liberated until a month after D-Day.)
Balanced treatment
I found also there is a more balanced treatment of the other landing beaches - Juno, Sword and Gold, where the British and Canadian forces landed - instead of putting all the emphasis on Omaha and Utah. Similarly, there are more reminders here that forces in Operation Overlord included soldiers and support from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Free France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland, a fact often overlooked.
While the museum feels spread out, and at times it was confusing where to go next, nearly all French signs and displays also are in English, and there is an app for iPhone or iPad that gives advance glimpses of each section and a little context.
More so than the other museums, the Caen Memorial expands the history to include the Cold War and its course and effects on Europe long after the Nazi surrender.
Among the most compelling visuals - in a museum packed with them - is the head of a bronze statue that was blasted off during bombing, its forehead torn and face contorted; and a wall-size black-and-white photo of workers in a globe factory - applying new borders to reflect the Third Reich's spread.
If you go
Caen Memorial Centre for History and Peace: Esplanade General Eisenhower, 14000 Caen, Normandy. Open daily, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. through November; 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. during winter. Admission: $25.90 (look online for discount options and packages). The museum also offers tours to landing beaches and the American war cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer. |
Expert Reviewed
Two Methods:Creating an Upward Spiral of HappinessTaking Care of YourselfCommunity Q&A
Many scientists believe that nearly half of the things that make you happy are within your control. Wellbeing causes positive feelings, but positive feelings also cause wellbeing. Investing in your happiness and wellbeing creates a positive feedback loop that is self-generating and self-sustaining. Encouraging your positive, realistic thoughts to create an upward spiral of happiness. Help yourself, but don't isolate yourself or refuse to consult others. There are things we can only get from other people, and things we can only get from ourselves.
Method 1
Creating an Upward Spiral of Happiness
1. 1
Encourage your positive feelings. Notice when you feel good, and feel good about that. The more you dwell in your positivity, the happier and more resilient you will feel. Rather than trying to force happiness to appear, cultivate in yourself a sense of wellbeing, strength, and connectedness. Affirm the positive thoughts that come to you. Say them out loud or write them down to increase their resonance. "The sunshine feels good on my skin." "I'm proud of myself for doing the dishes."
• At the end of the day, review the things that you enjoyed. List three things that brought you pleasure.
• Positive emotion helps you repair from trauma and hardship, and builds resilience for hard times to come.[1]
2. 2
Locate your happiness. We humans are famously bad at guessing the things that make us happy. Pursuit of power, wealth, and fame rarely pay off in personal satisfaction. Stress can induce us to replace our pleasures with coping mechanisms. Time in which you are being entertained or praised will not necessarily be your happiest time. Before you set your goals, spend some time tracking your joy.
• Try keeping a diary during an ordinary week, and checking in with yourself a few times a day. What activities bring on contentment? What do they have in common?[2]
• Notice where you are when you are happy, and what your body is doing. Are you outside? In motion? Are you alone, or in company? What time of day is it?
3. 3
Set goals meaningful to you. Once you have identified some of the things that bring you contentment, ask yourself what they have in common. What kind of activities can you really sink into? When do you feel like you are doing your best work, or being your best self? Set goals that will help you achieve greater engagement during your daily activities.[3]
• For example, if you felt happiest while walking your dog, waiting for the bus, and watering the lawn, your goal might be to spend more time outside.
• If you felt happiest helping out a colleague at work and making dinner with your partner, your new goal might be to find another activity in which you are helping others.
4. 4
Show yourself the world. Focus on gaining experiences rather than possessions. Spend your extra money on traveling and learning new things. Cultivating memories will leave you with a stronger sense of being alive than acquiring objects. Learning new things will keep your mind strong into your old age, and can introduce new joys into your routine. Developing a hobby can be an excellent reminder to take time off without switching yourself off.[4][5]
• Volunteer with an organization you believe in to increase your sense of connectedness and usefulness.
• Save your extra money for social spending and gifts for others. Take your friend out to dinner, or buy a nice bottle of wine for the host of a dinner party.
• Set learning goals for yourself. Take language lessons, and take a trip to a country that speaks that language at the year's end. Take cooking lessons, and throw a party with food you've made.
5. 5
Practice gratitude. Wanting what you have will make you happier than casting around for other options. Change can be stimulating, but investing your attention in the people and places you love contributes more to your overall happiness. Examine what you have, and appreciate it. Make a list of things you are grateful for, and share it with those you love.
• Treasure the people in your life. Helping yourself doesn't mean isolating yourself. Take the time to tell your friends and family that you love them, and tell them what you appreciate about them.
• If you feel you express yourself best in writing, make up a list of people you are grateful for, and write a letter a day.[6]
Method 2
Taking Care of Yourself
1. 1
Sleep well. Skipping sleep can aggravate any issue you might be facing. Adults need 7-8 hours of sleep a night, with as few interruptions as possible. Sleeping too much can cause lethargy and depression, while sleeping too little can damage your immune resistance, your weight, and your mental health.[7][8]
• If you are having trouble sleeping at night, try to build a relaxing bedtime routine. Give yourself an hour before bed to brush your teeth, change into soft pajamas, and do one restful activity, such as reading, meditating, watching a show, or listening to music.
• Cut down on alcohol and caffeine, and try not to nap.
• When a work-related or stressful thought comes to you at night, say gently to yourself "It's not time to think about that. It's my bedtime."
2. 2
Get exercise. Regular exercise can make you more energetic, confident, healthy, and relaxed.[9] Most adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. Break your exercise up into shorter increments across the week. If you don't like the gym, try going on brisk walks, taking bike rides, or attending dance or yoga classes.
3. 3
Feed yourself well. Cooking at home is cheaper and healthier than eating out, so teach yourself to cook the things you love, and keep a well-stocked fridge. Rather than bothering with vitamins and supplements, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and vary your diet. Eating a wide range of foods will help you get the nutrients your body needs.[10] Make sure to get the protein and carbohydrates you need for energy.
• Eat at least three meals a day with healthy snacks in between.
4. 4
Avoid negative self-talk. Treat yourself the way any human deserves to be treated: with compassion, respect, and love. Instead of being down on yourself, speak to yourself with calm attention. When negative thoughts and feelings come to you, name them. Identify the situations that bring those feelings on. Accept the feelings as they come, but analyze the beliefs behind them.[11]
• If you have a negative feeling that comes often, name it and treat it like an annoying by-product of your environment. Say "oh, there's body-shame again. Probably because I'm in this waiting room surrounded by magazines depicting one body type."
5. 5
Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness means paying attention to your thoughts, senses, and feelings in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. It can relieve your anxiety, and help you relax out of a negative spiral.[12] To practice mindfulness, pay attention to your senses. List everything you can see, smell, hear, and feel in the moment.[13]
• Try saying what you are doing when you begin to feel tense or stressed. Say "I am walking up the street. I am holding my jacket closed. I am breathing."
• Feel the breath coming in and out of you. Notice which parts of your body rise and fall. When your mind wanders, remind yourself to pay attention to your breath. [14]
• To relax your whole body, tense and relax each muscle in turn.
6. 6
Make a budget. Know what you are earning and spending. Make sure you have enough to pay for your monthly expenses and put aside for the future. If you are spending more than you earn, see if you can reduce your expenses. Having a budget will reduce your anxiety and help you make better decisions.
• Calculate what you make each month, what you are spending, and what you are spending it on. Then calculate what you can afford to spend each month.
• If you don't have a savings account, open one. Calculate an amount you can afford to deposit in it every month.
• Ways to start saving money include cooking at home, buying ingredients from scratch instead of buying processed food, taking public transportation, and not buying drinks from bars or coffeeshops.
7. 7
Take yourself to an expert. One realistic way to help yourself is to recognize the value of an outside opinion. There are some situations we can't get out of on our own. If you are struggling with an addiction, mental illness, money trouble, legal trouble, or abuse, you might have trouble recovering without the knowledge and skillset of a professional.
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• How do I keep high spirits and always think well of myself, even when made fun of?
• Focus on the present moment. In so doing, you are no longer giving attention to the past and its contents. Remind yourself that you matter as much as the next person, that your self worth is valuable and that every person makes mistakes in order to grow and learn. Finally, when people make fun of you, let it roll off you like water off a duck's back, realizing that their rudeness stems from their insecurities and no power on Earth or elsewhere made them the decision-maker over your life or worth.
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Understand Unintended Consequences
Why do unintended consequences occur?
Understanding why and how unintended consequences occur will help you identify and fix your current EHR-related problems and will also help you avoid future unintended consequences.
The management expert, Peter Drucker, called health care workplaces "the most complex human organization[s] ever devised." Interactions between these complex environments and increasingly complex EHRs can spawn subtle unintended consequences of EHR implementation. These consequences do not result from malfunctions within the EHR, but from the interactions between the EHR and the work environment or between the EHR and the technical and physical infrastructure.
In this section we describe Interactive Sociotechnical Analysis (ISTA), a framework to help you understand the types of interactions that can result in unintended consequences. The ISTA framework has four key elements:
1. The EHR (as designed), or how the developers envisioned that the EHR would be used
2. The work environment: The policies, priorities, hierarchies, and relationships within the organization.
3. The technical and physical infrastructure: Other IT, medical devices, building design and layout.
4. The EHR (as used): The product of interactions between the EHR and the work environment and the physical and technical infrastructure.
Elements of the ISTA framework
visual flowchart of the elements of the interactive sociotechnical analysis, with four boxes linked directionally or bi-directionally; a full description of the flowchart is provided in the text below
1. The EHR (as designed) interacts with the work environment.
EHRs can alter communication and relationships among clinicians in undesirable ways, even while the EHR helps eliminate other problematic and dangerous forms of communication (such as illegible prescriptions).
Post-EHR Changes in Communication: A survey of commercialEHR physician users found that communication among clinicians, and between clinicians and their patients, benefitted from EHRfeatures such as e-mail, instant messaging, improved access to patient information, and improved access to clinical guidelines. The survey also revealed that the introduction of an EHR resulted in some new communication barriers.
2. The EHR (as designed) interacts with the physical or technical infrastructure.
A poor fit between an EHR and other IT or the physical infrastructure is a common source of unintended consequences. Problems involving the interface with other health IT systems can lead to poor decisions, delays, data loss, errors, unnecessary testing, and system downtimes. "Dueling systems" can result if paper-based or legacy systems continue to be used after the implementation of an EHR. Features of the physical layout such as the ease with which computers can be accessed, noise, overcrowding, and illumination affect work performance and safety and may have unanticipated, negative effects on use of the EHR.
Conflicts Between Technology and Physical Layout: As a cost-saving alternative to installing computers in each patient room, a large academic hospital chose to invest in computers on wheels (COWs). The COWs were designed to roll anywhere they were needed and were intended to be especially useful at a patient's bedside. However, problems began to emerge after the COWs were put to use in the hospital.
3. The work environment interacts with the EHR (as used).
Policies, priorities, hierarchies, and workplace relationships shape how the EHR is used and for which tasks. At the same time it is also possible that the way the EHR is used can lead to changes in organizational policies, procedures, and hierarchies.
EHR Safety Check Results in a Potentially Dangerous Workaround: To reduce the risk of medication overdoses, a nursing home implemented "intentional blocks" in the order entry system. These blocks would not allow providers (most often nurses) to order medication doses that exceeded typical thresholds. To circumvent the blocks, nurses simply ordered multiple doses of the same medication in order to obtain the full dose that they desired.
EHR-in-Use Alters Clinical Authority and Oversight: A hospital policy at an academic medical center required infectious disease (ID) fellows to review residents' CPOE orders of broad-spectrum antibiotics. However, no restrictions on the resident's ordering privileges were implemented in the system. In order to avoid the hassle of dealing with the ID fellows, some residents would resort to "stealth dosing," that is, waiting until the ID fellows went off duty to prescribe the restricted medications.
4. The physical or technical infrastructure interacts with the EHR (as used).
There is also a two-way interaction between the EHR (as used) and the IT and physical infrastructure. The example below highlights some of the problems that can emerge when attempting to integrate an EHR with other IT systems.
System Integration Problems: After implementing an EHR, a small hospital discovered that test results from an outside lab were not being loaded properly into the EHR. Lab results were being attached to the wrong patient records.
5. User reactions to EHR features may require redesign.
Finally, sometimes actual use of the EHR diverges so dramatically from the original design that it becomes necessary to reconfigure some EHR features. The next example illustrates some options for reconfiguring the system when "alert fatigue" sets in.
Responding to Alert Fatigue: EHRs often include decision support functionalities such as drug-drug interaction, drug-dose, drug-lab, and contraindication alerting. Several studies have identified "alert fatigue", that is, choosing to ignore alerts, as a common condition amongst clinicians using EHRs with decision support.
In the next section of Module III, we provide information and tools that can help you detect unintended consequences as they emerge. We outline how to develop and maintain an "Issues Log," a central repository of EHR-related problems.
Other Resources for Understanding Unintended Consequences: Several other researchers have proposed frameworks for understanding EHR-related unintended consequences, Including Sittig's sociotechnical model for studying health information technology in complex adaptive health care systems, Henriksen's Human Factors Framework, Vincent's Framework for analyzing risk and safety in clinical medicine, and Carayon's SEIPS model |
Health Encyclopedia:
When Your Child Has Idiopathic Thrombocytic Purpura (ITP)
Idiopathic thrombocytic purpura (ITP) is a blood disorder that affects the platelets. Platelets (also called thrombocytes) are blood cells that help with clotting. Normally, when your child has a cut or bruise, platelets come together to form a clot or "plug" to stop or control bleeding. With ITP, there are not enough platelets. As a result, your child can have more bleeding or bruising than normal. Your child's healthcare provider can evaluate your child and discuss treatment options with you.
Small boy sitting on mother's lap. Mother is holding a toy bear. Healthcare provider is preparing to take blood sample from boy's arm.
With ITP, routine blood tests may be done to check your child's platelet count.
What are the types of ITP?
Two types of ITP can occur. They include:
• Acute ITP. This type can last up to 6 months. It occurs more often in toddlers or young children.
• Chronic ITP. This type can last 6 months or longer. It occurs more often in adults, though it can also affect children.
What causes ITP?
ITP is an idiopathic condition. This means the cause is unknown. It is believed to be an autoimmune disorder. This is because the body's immune system attacks normal platelets.
What are the symptoms of ITP?
Symptoms vary for every child. Symptoms may include:
• Small red or purple spots (petechiae) that look like a rash
• Bruising that is often purple (purpura)
• Nosebleeds
• Bleeding gums
• Bleeding in urine or stool
• Bruises in mouth (often called blood blisters)
• Signs of stroke, including trouble with balance and coordination, abnormal walk, memory loss, confusion
How is ITP diagnosed?
The doctor will examine your child. He or she will ask about your child's symptoms and health history. Tests will also be done. Most of the tests require taking a blood sample from a vein in the arm or from a finger or heel. Tests may include:
• A complete blood cell count (CBC) to measure the amounts of different types of cells in the blood. With ITP, the platelet count is especially important.
• A blood smear to check the sizes and shapes of the blood cells.
• Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy to check for problems with the production of blood cells. With a bone marrow aspiration, a needle is inserted into a bone to collect a sample of the bone marrow fluid and cells. With a bone marrow biopsy, a needle is inserted into a bone to collect a small sample of bone marrow tissue. In either case, the sample is analyzed in a lab.
• Other lab tests may also be done to rule out possible underlying conditions.
How is ITP treated?
Treatment varies depending on your child's platelet count and the severity of your child's symptoms.
• In many cases, no treatment is needed. Your child is monitored by the doctor to manage any bleeding symptoms and to see if platelet counts return to normal on their own.
• Discuss with the doctor how to help your child reduce the risk of bleeding and possible complications. This includes topics such as limiting certain physical activities, and avoiding certain medications.
• If treatment is needed, this can include:
• Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) or Rh immune globulin to help keep the body from destroying platelets.
• Medications to help raise the platelet count.
• Surgery to remove the spleen, which may be the site of platelet destruction.
What are the long-term concerns?
Most children with ITP recover completely. If your child has chronic ITP, he or she will need ongoing treatments and medical care. Work closely with the doctor to learn how to help your child.
Online Medical Reviewer: Fetterman, Anne, RN, BSN
Online Medical Reviewer: MMI board-certified, academically affiliated clinician
Last Review Date: 4/27/2015 |
How Writing Can Improve Mood and Mental Health Part 1
There are numerous health benefits of writing in personal, business, academic, and other aspects in life. However, before exploring some of the ways writing can improve your mood and mental health, briefly consider the mechanics of the brain and mind as that is where our psychological processes take place.
The human mind can become overwhelmed and thinking befuddled when presented with massive amounts of information. Stress may escalate especially when all that information is coming into the brain at a fast pace. This kind of pressure causes the majority of the misunderstandings and mistakes that people experience. Your brain is not just receiving information from outside sources. Your mind is constantly creating new information (ideas and perceptions) for your brain to process as well. We are not always consciously aware of this. However, even in sleep, our minds are at work creatively. Whether this information is coming from outside or inside the brain, it also produces feelings, and the brain must process these new feelings. It is therefore understandable why people become confused, lose focus, or have difficulty making decisions with all this activity going on.
Writing has the psychological benefit of “releasing” information onto paper or into a computer document. This frees up “space” so that your brain and mind can perform the processing of new information, and corresponding perceptions, thoughts, and feelings, without becoming overwhelmed.
By writing down some of what is swimming around in your head, you can get a clearer picture of what information you have and what you might be able to do with it. Writing enables you to take tidbits of ideas and inklings of possibilities and turn them into clear- cut goals with a definite direction from which to launch efforts towards successful fruition. Being clear on what you need to do helps raise performance level, and maintain the motivation to continue with projects to the finish. It is easy to see how this could be beneficial in your personal life as well as at work.
A surge in confidence, self-esteem, and sense of accomplishment are all psychological benefits which are possible through writing. Experiencing these positive emotions is akin to writing your own prescription for success. People with high levels of confidence, self- esteem, and the ability to accomplish things have greater happiness or overall satisfaction than those who do not experience these important emotions.
Read: Part 2
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About CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control
CDC is a leader in nationwide efforts to ease the burden of cancer. Through the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC), CDC works with national cancer organizations, state health agencies, and other key groups to develop, implement, and promote effective strategies for preventing and controlling cancer.
Ongoing Work
CDC provides funding and assistance to help states, tribes/tribal organizations, and territories collect data on cancer incidence and deaths, cancer risk factors, and the use of cancer screening tests. Public health professionals use the data to identify and track cancer trends, strengthen cancer prevention and control activities, and prioritize the use of resources.
Conducting Research and Evaluation
CDC conducts and supports research designed to help the cancer community better understand the factors that increase cancer risk and identify opportunities to prevent cancer. CDC also evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of strategies designed to prevent and control cancer.
Building Capacity and Partnerships
CDC works with many partners to translate research into public health programs, practices, and services. To ensure that innovations reach the people who most need them, CDC helps states, tribes/tribal organizations, and territories build the capacity to apply scientific advances to the development of strong cancer control programs.
CDC develops educational campaigns and materials designed to teach health professionals, policy makers, the media, and the public about cancer prevention and control.
Future Directions
To further its overarching goal of ensuring that people are healthy in every stage of life, CDC will continue to—
• Collaborate with partners, policy makers, and other individuals and groups working to ease the burden of cancer in the United States and abroad.
• Expand the use of information technology in cancer surveillance, particularly in cancer registries.
• Improve the cost-effectiveness of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.
• Expand CDC’s role in addressing public health strategies to increase survivorship in underserved populations and improve end-of-life support for cancer patients and their families, friends, and caregivers.
• Define the proper role for management of chronic diseases, including cancer, in the case of catastrophic disaster. |
ingredient information
Peppers Black Ground
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. When dried, the fruit is known as a peppercorn. When fresh and fully mature, it is approximately 5 millimetres (0.20 in) in diameter, dark red, and contains a single seed. Peppercorns, and the ground pepper derived from them, may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper (cooked and dried unripe fruit), green pepper(dried unripe fruit) and white pepper (ripe fruit seeds). |
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out to lunch
Definition of out to lunch
1. 1 : to a restaurant for lunch <I offered to take her out to lunch.>
2. 2 informal : not aware of what is really happening : too strange or confused to notice or understand what is really happening <That guy acts like he's out to lunch.>
Word by Word Definitions
1. : in a direction away from the inside or center
: outside
: from among others
1. : eject, oust
: to identify publicly as being such secretly
: to identify as being a closet homosexual
1. : used as a function word to indicate an outward movement
1. : situated outside : external
: out-of-bounds
: situated at a distance : outlying
1. : outside
: one who is out of office or power or on the outside
: an act or instance of putting a player out or of being put out in baseball
1. : a usually light meal
: one taken in the middle of the day
: the food prepared for a lunch
1. : to eat lunch
: to treat to lunch
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up out to lunch? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
to manage or play awkwardly
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1“LORD Almighty, God of Israel, the anguished soul, the dismayed spirit cries out to you. 2Hear, LORD, and have mercy, for you are a merciful God; have mercy on us, who have sinned against you: 3for you are enthroned forever, while we are perishing forever.a 4LORD Almighty, God of Israel, hear the prayer of the dead of Israel, children who sinned against you; they did not listen to the voice of the LORD, their God, and their evils cling to us.b 5Do not remember the wicked deeds of our ancestors, but remember at this time your power and your name, 6for you are the LORD our God; and you, LORD, we will praise! 7This is why you put into our hearts the fear of you: that we may call upon your name, and praise you in our exile, when we have removed from our hearts all the wickedness of our ancestors who sinned against you.c 8See, today we are in exile, where you have scattered us, an object of reproach and cursing and punishment for all the wicked deeds of our ancestors, who withdrew from the LORD, our God.”
A. Importance of Wisdom
9Hear, Israel, the commandments of life:
listen, and know prudence!d
10How is it, Israel,
that you are in the land of your foes,
grown old in a foreign land,
11Defiled with the dead,
counted among those destined for Hades?e
12You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!f
13Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have dwelt in enduring peace.g
14Learn where prudence is,
where strength, where understanding;
That you may know also
where are length of days, and life,
where light of the eyes, and peace.h
15Who has found the place of wisdom?i
Who has entered into her treasuries?
16Where are the rulers of the nations,
who lorded it over the wild beasts of the earth,j
17made sport of the birds in the heavens,
Who heaped up the silver,
the gold in which people trust,
whose possessions were unlimited,
18Who schemed anxiously for money,
their doings beyond discovery?
19They have vanished, gone down to Hades,
and others have risen up in their stead.
20Later generations have seen the light of day,
have dwelt on the earth,
But the way to understanding they have not known,
21they have not perceived her paths or reached her;
their children remain far from the way to her.
22She has not been heard of in Canaan,*
nor seen in Teman.k
23The descendants of Hagar who seek knowledge on earth,
the merchants of Medan and Tema,l
the storytellers and those seeking knowledge—
These have not known the way to wisdom,
nor have they kept her paths in mind.
B. Inaccessibility of Wisdom
24O Israel, how vast is the dwelling of God,*
how broad the scope of his dominion:
25Vast and endless,
high and immeasurable!
26In it were born the giants,*
renowned at the first,
huge in stature, skilled in war.m
27These God did not choose,
nor did he give them the way of understanding;n
28They perished for lack of prudence,
perished through their own folly.o
29Who has gone up to the heavens and taken her,
bringing her down from the clouds?p
30Who has crossed the sea and found her,
bearing her away rather than choice gold?
31None knows the way to her,
nor has at heart her path.
32But the one who knows all things knows her;
he has probed her by his knowledge—
The one who established the earth for all time,
and filled it with four-footed animals,
33Who sends out the lightning, and it goes,
calls it, and trembling it obeys him;
34Before whom the stars at their posts
shine and rejoice.
35When he calls them, they answer, “Here we are!”
shining with joy for their Maker.q
36Such is our God;
no other is to be compared to him:
C. Wisdom Contained in the Law
37* He has uncovered the whole way of understanding,
and has given her to Jacob, his servant,
to Israel, his beloved.r
38Thus she has appeared on earth,
is at home with mortals.s
* [3:94:4] This poem in praise of personified Wisdom utilizes the theme of Jb 28 (where is wisdom to be found?) and it identifies wisdom and law, as in Sir 24:2223.
* [3:2223] Despite the renown for wisdom of the peoples of Canaan and Phoenicia (Ez 28:34), of Teman (Jer 49:7), of the descendants of Hagar or the Arabians of Medan and Tema, they did not possess true wisdom, which is found only in the law of God (Bar 4:1).
* [3:24] The dwelling of God: here, the whole universe; cf. Is 66:1.
* [3:26] The giants: Gn 6:14 reflects a tradition about giants who existed before the flood; this was developed in the non-canonical Book of Enoch.
* [3:3738] As in Sir 24:8, Wisdom is given to Israel but also is said to live with all human beings (Prv 8:31).
a. [3:3] Ps 29:10; 102:1213.
b. [3:4] Jer 31:29.
c. [3:7] Jer 31:33.
d. [3:9] Dt 6:45; Prv 4:2022.
e. [3:11] Ps 88:5.
f. [3:12] Jer 2:13; Jn 4:10, 14.
g. [3:13] Is 48:18.
h. [3:14] Prv 3:2; 8:14.
i. [3:1537] Jb 28:128.
j. [3:16] Jer 27:6; 1 Cor 1:20.
k. [3:22] Jb 2:11; Jer 49:7; Ez 28:45; Zec 9:2.
l. [3:23] Gn 25:2, 15; Jb 6:19; Jer 25:23.
m. [3:26] Gn 6:4; Wis 14:6; Sir 16:7.
n. [3:27] 1 Sm 16:710.
o. [3:28] Sir 10:8.
p. [3:29] Dt 30:1213; Sir 24:4; Rom 10:67.
q. [3:35] Jb 38:7; Ps 147:4; Is 40:26.
r. [3:37] Ps 147:19; Sir 24:812.
s. [3:38] Wis 9:18; Jn 1:14.
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of Thanet, and take measures to secure the lands and houses in the district against the encroachments of the sea. In 1366 he was appointed king's sergeant, with a salary of 20l. per annum, at the same time doing duty as one of the justices of assize, at a salary of the same amount. In 1372 he was placed on a commission entrusted with the defence of the coast of Kent against Invaders. In 1374 he was nominated one of seven sent ad paries transmarinas, with a special mandate to confer with the envoys of the papal court, not, as Foss absurdly says, 'as to the reformer Wicliff,' who was himself a member of the embassy, but for the purpose of bringing about a happy settlement of such questions as involved the honour of the church and the rights of the crown and realm of England, and in the same year he was made chief justice of the common pleas, but was not knighted till 1385. In 1381, on the outbreak of the insurrection against the poll-tax, afterwards known as that of Wat Tyler, he was sent into Essex with a commission of trailbaston to enforce the observance of the law, but the insurgents compelled the chief justice to take an oath never more to sit in any such sessions, and Bealknap was only too glad to make his escape without suffering personal violence. In 1386 the impeachment of Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, for waste of the revenues and corruption, was followed by the transfer of the administrative authority to a council of nobles responsible to the parliament. The king, at the instigation of his friends, summoned the judges to a council at Nottingham (August 1387). With the exception of Sir William Skipwith, all the judges attended. They were asked whether the late ordinances by which Pole had been dismissed were derogatory to the royal prerogative and in what manner their authors ought to be punished. The questions were answered by the judges in a sense favourable to the king; and a formal act of council was drawn up, embodying the questions and the answers, and sealed with the seal of each judge. We learn from Knyghton that Bealknap protested with some vigour against the whole proceeding; but he yielded eventually to the threats of death with which the Duke of Ireland and the Earl of Suffolk plied him. Early next year all the judges who had subscribed this document (except Tresilian, who was summarily executed) were removed from their offices, arrested, and sent to the Tower, by order of the parliament, on a charge of treason. They pleaded that they had acted under compulsion and menace of death. They were, however, sentenced to death, with the consequent attainder, and forfeiture of lands and goods; but at the intercession of the bishops the sentence was commuted for one of banishment into Ireland, the attainder, however, not being removed. Drogheda was selected as the place of Bealknap's exile, and he was ordered to confine himself within a circuit of three miles round it. An annuity of 40l. was granted for his subsistence. He was recalled to England in 1397. In the same year an act of restitution was passed, by which Bealknap and the other attainted judges were restored to their rights. This act, however, was shortly afterwards annulled, i.e. in 1399, on the accession of Henry IV. In 1399 the commons petitioned parliament for the restoration of his estates. He seems to have died shortly afterwards, since he did not join with his former colleagues, Holt and Burgh, when, in 1401, they petitioned parliament for a removal of the attainder. A case in which Bealknap's wife sued alone inspired Justice Markham with two barbarous rhyming hexameters—
Ecce modo mirum quod femina fert breve Regis,
Non nominando virum conjiinctum robore legis.
This lady, who is designated indifferently Sybell and Juliana, was permitted to remain in possession of her husband's estates in spite of the attainder until her death in 1414-1415. They then escheated to the crown; but Hamon, the heir of Sir Robert, at the time petitioned parliament for a removal of the attainder, and the prayer was granted. Sir Edward Bealknap, great-grandson of the judge, whose sister Alice married Sir W. Shelley, a justice of the common pleas in the time of Henry VIII, achieved considerable distinction during the reigns of that monarch and of his predecessor, both as a soldier and a man of affairs.
[Hasted's Kent, ii. 69; Duchesne's Hist. Norm. Script. Ant. 1023; Year Books, 20 and 36 Edward III; Lewis's Isle of Thanet, 200; Rymer's. Fœdera. ed. Clarke, iii. 870, 952, 961, 1007, 1015; Liber Assis. 40 Edward III; Leland's Collect. i. 185; Devon's Brantingham's Issue Roll, 369, 370; Devon's Issues of the Exch. 240; Stow's Annals, 284; Knyghton Col. 2694; Holinshed, ii. 781-2; Chron. A. Mon. S. Alb. (Rolls series), 380-2; Rot. Parl. iii. 233-44, 346, 358, 461; Trokelowe et Anon Chron. (Rolls Series), 195-6. 303: State Trials, i. 106-20; Abbrev. Rot. Orig. ii. 319; Cal. Inq. p m. iv. 7; Cotton's Records, 331, 540.]
J. M. R.
BEAMISH, NORTH LUDLOW (1797–1872), military writer and antiquary, was the son of William Beamish, Esq., of Beaumont House, co. Cork, and was born on 31 Dec. 1797. In November 1816 he obtained a commission in the 4th royal Irish dragoon |
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I saw the article reporting 2011 Mark Twain Prize giving ceremony held on October 23rd at Kennedy Center, under the title “At Mark Twain shebang, comics clank a cowbell or two for Will Ferrell” in the October 24 issue of Washington Post.
I was arrested with the expression “comics clank a cowbell or two,” and then found another “cowbell” in the subsequent sentence:
“If you are a fan of the SNL sketch “cowbell,” you have got to tell Will,” Andy Samberg told the audience, “since the entire world still beg him for “more cowbell.”
As I wasn’t clear about what “clank a cowbell or two” and “more cowbell” mean, I checked some online dictionaries and found the following definition of “more cowbell” in the Urban Dictionary:
• more cowbell - A quote from a Saturday Night Live skit featuring Blue Oyster Cult members recording "Don't Fear the Reaper" with a producer telling them to add "more cowbell". A funny pun on the cowbell in the song by BOC. Billy: "It needs more cowbell!" Joe: "LOLLERSKATES!"
From this I guess “more cowbell” means “more animation (ginger or substance)" or "sound volume" though I’m not sure. Tell me if I’m wrong. But what does “comics clank a cowbell or two” mean?
Why is “more cowbell” in singular form while "a cowbell or two" is in countable (noun) form? Is it because the former is used as an abstract noun and the latter is a material noun?
Is either “more cowbell” or "clank a cowbell" getting (or has it gotten) currency as an idiom or a buzz word? The “cowbell” is clamoring for me to ask a spell of questions.
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You certainly did your research!
Two crucial points that it's not clear if you came across, though:
1) SNL is an abbreviation for Saturday Night Live, a popular comedy show that features comedic stand-up skits and musical guests.
2) The cowbell, in addition to being a countable noun, is also an instrument.
Now, let's take a break and watch an excerpt from the skit in question.
The skit is a reenactment and parody of the studio recording of the song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by the band Blue Öyster Cult. The guy screaming "I gotta have more cowbell" is the producer. Because the cowbell player (Will Ferrell) and the producer (Christopher Walken) are popular actors, and because SNL was a successful show at the time, this skit became a big hit. The humor lies in that "more cowbell" seems like an absurd request - a background instrument becomes louder than the vocals, the melody, etc.
The phrase is "more cowbell" and not "more cowbells" because Walken is asking that the one cowbell that's there be played more loudly. This is actually standard usage - someone might similarly ask for "more bass" or "more guitar", both in the singular. (Or, in another context, someone might stay a stew needs "more carrot".)
The "more cowbell" joke can now be seen all over US pop culture, though at this point, I have to say it feels rather stale. While it's not an idiom, you could call it a "pop culture reference" or "meme".
Understanding it as a cry for "more excitement" isn't bad, actually, but I wouldn't read too much meaning into it. One of the appeals of SNL was its randomness, and people often quote it quite randomly.
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Particularly because the cowbell is about the least musical instrument possible. It's the noisy thing people use at Winter olympics. So "more cowbell" on a record is like saying a stew needs more <some nasty tasting vegatable> – mgb Oct 26 '11 at 15:35
Perhaps "More of that ridiculous thing from which you seem to be deriving an unreasonable amount of enjoyment!" But that seems a little verbose. – Adam Robinson Oct 26 '11 at 16:26
@MartinBeckett: Have you heard a vuvuzela? – Adam Robinson Oct 26 '11 at 16:26
In the original BOC song, they used a wooden block instead of a cowbell. – Chris Cudmore Oct 26 '11 at 18:25
If you haven't seen the SNL sketch, it's Christopher Walken's recurring line throughout. All the other permutations are just references back to the original sketch. You can see the sketch here. I'd put it in the category of Internet Meme.
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+1 because the link is unbroken and without a visual reminder the humor and meaning behind "more cowbell!" would be totally lost. – Mari-Lou A Sep 24 '13 at 3:26
Onomatomaniak's wonderful response was spot-on.
I wish to share a completely unrelated, much more esoteric usage of the phrase that I am sure is less common.
Some independent Baptist churches (at least in West Virginia, USA) have cowbell services that features several preachers presenting brief sermons in quick succession. Each preacher has a time limit (five minutes to ten minutes time limits are common.) If the preacher goes over the proscribed time limit, the moderator rings a cowbell, which is the preacher's signal to wrap it up. This bell gives the service its name.
Thus, when one sees members of the congregation posting "More cowbell!" to Facebook, the meaning is "we would like to have another cowbell service!" To the uninitiated, however, it looks as if it is a chic cultural reference to the SNL skit.
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comment out
(programming) To surround a section of code with comment delimiters or to prefix every line in the section with a comment marker. This prevents it from being compiled or interpreted. It is often done to temporarily disable the code, e.g. during debugging or when the code is redundant or obsolete, but is being left in the source to make the intent of the active code clearer.
The word "comment" is sometimes replaced with whatever syntax is used to mark comments in the language in question, e.g. "hash out" (shell script, Perl), "REM out" (BASIC), etc.
Compare condition out.
[Jargon File]
Last updated: 1998-04-28 |
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Evolution of number system - Journey from counting number to real numbers. Summer Project CPS SamastipurProject
Natural number
Natural numbers can be used for counting (one apple, two apples, three apples, ...) from top to bottom.
In mathematics, the natural numbers are the ordinary whole numbers used for counting("there are 6 coins onthe table") and ordering ("this is the 3rd largest city in the country"). These purposes are related to the linguistic notions of cardinal and ordinal numbers, respectively (see English numerals). A later notion is that of a nominal number, which is used only for naming.
There is no universal agreement about whether to include zero in the set of natural numbers: some define the natural numbers to be the positive integers {1, 2, 3, ...}, while for others the term designates the non-negative integers {0, 1, 2, 3, ...}. The former definition is the traditional one, with the latter definition first appearing in the 19th century. Some authors use the term "natural number" to exclude zero and "whole number" to include it; others use "whole number" in a way that excludes zero, or in a way that includes both zero and the negative integers.
History of natural numbers and the status of zero
The natural numbers had their origins in the words used to count things, beginning with the number 1.
The first major advance in abstraction was the use of numerals to represent numbers. This allowed systems to be developed for recording large numbers. The ancient Egyptiansdeveloped a powerful system of numerals with distinct hieroglyphs for 1, 10, and all the powers of 10 up to over one million. A stone carving from Karnak, dating from around 1500 BC and now at the Louvre in Paris, depicts 276 as 2 hundreds, 7 tens, and 6 ones; and similarly for the number 4,622. The Babylonians had a place-value system based essentially on the numerals for 1 and 10.
A much later advance was the development of the idea that zero can be considered as a number, with its own numeral. The use of a zero digit in place-value notation (within other numbers) dates back as early as 700 BC by the Babylonians, but they omitted such a digit when it would have been the last symbol in the number. [1] The Olmec and Maya civilizations used zero as a separate number as early as the 1st century BC, but this usage did not spread beyond Mesoamerica. The use of a numeral zero in modern times originated with the Indian mathematician Brahmagupta in 628. However, zero had been used as a number in the medieval computus (the calculation of the date of Easter), beginning withDionysius Exiguus in 525, without being denoted by a numeral (standard Roman numeralsdo not have a symbol for zero); instead nulla or nullae, genitive of nullus, the Latin word for "none", was employed to denote a zero value. [2]
The first systematic study of numbers as abstractions (that is, as abstract entities) is usually credited to the Greek philosophers Pythagoras and Archimedes. Note that many Greek mathematicians did not consider 1 to be "a number", so to them 2 was the smallest number. [3]
Independent studies also occurred at around the same time in India, China, andMesoamerica.[ citation needed ]
Several set-theoretical definitions of natural numbers were developed in the 19th century. With these definitions it was convenient to include 0 (corresponding to the empty set) as a natural number. Including 0 is now the common convention among set theorists, logicians, and computer scientists. Many other mathematicians also include 0, although some have kept the older tradition and take 1 to be the first natural number. [4] Sometimes the set of natural numbers with 0 included is called the set of whole numbers or counting numbers. On the other hand, integer being Latin for whole, the integers usually stand for the negative and positive whole numbers (and zero) altogether.
Mathematicians use N or (an N in blackboard bold, displayed as ℕ in Unicode) to refer to the set of all natural numbers. This set is countably infinite: it is infinite but countable by definition. This is also expressed by saying that the cardinal number of the set is aleph-null .
Typically, if a mathematician uses for the set and he needs in the same scientific context this set including , then he mostly writes for the latter.
On the other hand, if he uses for the set and he needs in the same scientific context this set excluding , then he mostly writes or for the latter.
To be unambiguous about whether zero is included or not, sometimes an index (or superscript) "0" is added in the former case, and a superscript "" or subscript "" is added in the latter case:
Some authors who exclude zero from the naturals use the terms natural numbers with zero, whole numbers, or counting numbers, denoted W, for the set of nonnegative integers. Others use the notation P for the positive integers if there is no danger of confusing this with the prime numbers. In that case, a popular notation is to use a script Pfor positive integers (which extends to using script N for negative integers, and script Z for zero).
Set theorists often denote the set of all natural numbers including zero by a lower-case Greek letter omega: ω. This stems from the identification of an ordinal number with the set of ordinals that are smaller. One may observe that adopting the von Neumann definition of ordinals and defining cardinal numbers as minimal ordinals among those with samecardinality, one gets . Lowercase omega ω is also similar to W.
Algebraic properties
The addition (+) and multiplication (�) operations on natural numbers have several algebraic properties:
Closure under addition and multiplication: for all natural numbers a and b, both a + band a � b are natural numbers.
Associativity: for all natural numbers a, b, and c, a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c and a � (b� c) = (a � b) � c.
Commutativity: for all naturalnumbers a and b, a + b = b + a and a � b = b � a.
Existence of identity elements: for every natural number a, a + 0 = a and a � 1 = a.
Distributivity of multiplication over addition for all natural numbers a, b, and c, a � (b+ c) = (a � b) + (a � c)
No zero divisors: if a and b are natural numbers such that a � b = 0 then a = 0 or b= 0
Analogously, given that addition has been defined, a multiplication � can be defined via a � 0 = 0 and a � S(b) = (a � b) + a. This turns (N *, �) into a free commutative monoid with identity element 1; a generator set for this monoid is the set of prime numbers. Addition and multiplication are compatible, which is expressed in the distribution law: a � (b+ c) = (a � b) + (a � c). These properties of addition and multiplication make the natural numbers an instance of a commutative semiring. Semirings are an algebraic generalization of the natural numbers where multiplication is not necessarily commutative. The lack of additive inverses, which is equivalent to the fact that N is not closed under subtraction, means that N is not a ring; instead it is a semiring (also known as a rig).
If we interpret the natural numbers as "excluding 0", and "starting at 1", the definitions of + and � are as above, except that we start with a + 1 = S(a) and a � 1 = a .
For the remainder of the article, we write ab to indicate the product a � b, and we also assume the standard order of operations.
Furthermore, one defines a total order on the natural numbers by writing a ≤ b if and only if there exists another natural number c with a + c = b. This order is compatible with thearithmetical operations in the following sense: if a, b and c are natural numbers and a ≤ b, then a + c ≤ b + c and ac ≤ bc . An important property of the natural numbers is that they are well-ordered: every non-empty set of natural numbers has a least element. The rank among well-ordered sets is expressed by an ordinal number; for the natural numbers this is expressed as "ω".
a = bq + r and r < b.
Two generalizations of natural numbers arise from the two uses:
A natural number can be used to express the size of a finite set; more generally acardinal number is a measure for the size of a set also suitable for infinite sets; this refers to a concept of "size" such that if there is a bijection between two sets they have the same size. The set of natural numbers itself and any other countably infinite set has cardinality aleph-null ().
Many well-ordered sets with cardinal number have an ordinal number greater than ω (the latter is the lowest possible). The least ordinal of cardinality (i.e., the initial ordinal) is.
Other generalizations are discussed in the article on numbers.
Formal definitions
Main article: Set-theoretic definition of natural numbers
Peano axioms
Main article: Peano axioms
There is a natural number 0.
There is no natural number whose successor is 0.
S is injective, i.e. distinct natural numbers have distinct successors: if a ≠ b, then S(a) ≠ S(b).
It should be noted that the "0" in the above definition need not correspond to what we normally consider to be the number zero. "0" simply means some object that when combined with an appropriate successor function, satisfies the Peano axioms. All systems that satisfy these axioms are isomorphic, the name "0" is used here for the first element (the term "zeroth element" has been suggested to leave "first element" to "1", "second element" to "2", etc.), which is the only element that is not a successor. For example, the natural numbers starting with one also satisfy the axioms, if the symbol 0 is interpreted as the natural number 1, the symbol S(0) as the number 2, etc. In fact, in Peano 's original formulation, the first natural number was 1.
Constructions based on set theory
A standard construction
A standard construction in set theory, a special case of the von Neumann ordinalconstruction, is to define the natural numbers as follows:
We set 0 := { }, the empty set,
� 0 = { }
� 1 = {0} = {{ }}
� n = {0, 1, 2, ..., n-2, n-1} = {0, 1, 2, ..., n-2,} ∪ {n-1} = {n-1} ∪ (n-1) = S(n-1)
and so on. When a natural number is used as a set, this is typically what is meant. Under this definition, there are exactly n elements (in the nave sense) in the set n and n ≤ m (in the nave sense) if and only if n is a subset of m.
Also, with this definition, different possible interpretations of notations like R n (n-tuples versus mappings of n into R) coincide.
Even if the axiom of infinity fails and the set of all natural numbers does not exist, it is possible to define what it means to be one of these sets. A set n is a natural number means that it is either 0 (empty) or a successor, and each of its elements is either 0 or the successor of another of its elements.
Other constructions
one could define 0 = { }
and S(a) = {a},
� 0 = { }
� 1 = {0} = {{ }}
� 2 = {1} ={{{ }}}, etc.
Or we could even define 0 = {{ }}
and S(a) = a ∪ {a}
� 0 = {{ }}
� 2 = {{ }, 0, 1}, etc.
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Gender: M Meaning of Lemuel: "devoted to God" Origin of Lemuel: Hebrew
Lemuel is a neglected Old Testament name, with the friendly nickname Lem, that we're surprised hasn't been picked up on by parents who have known too many Samuels.
In the Bible, Lemuel is mentioned twice in Proverbs as a king, but the name is probably remembered more as the first name of the narrator who journeys to Liliput in Jonathan Swift's satirical Gulliver's Travels.
Lemuel was Number 195 in 1881, but started a downward trajectory from which it never recovered. It finds some love on Nameberry, though, where it's Number 885.
Famous People Named Lemuel
Bass player Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister from Motorhead.
Pop Culture References for the name Lemuel
Lem, Lemmie, Lemmy |
US detects 'minuscule' radioactivity from Japan
March 18, 2011 in Earth / Environment
A radiation monitor in California detected a "minuscule" amount of an isotope from Japan's crippled nuclear power plant, officials said Friday, but insisted it was of no concern.
In the first confirmation of radioactivity having reached the US mainland, the (EPA) said the monitor in Sacramento had detected "minuscule quantities of the xenon-133.
"The origin was determined to be consistent with a release from the Fukushima reactors in northern Japan," it added in a joint statement with the Department of Energy.
The levels detected were some 0.1 disintegrations per second per cubic meter of air (0.1 Bq/m3) -- about one-millionth of the dose a person normally receives from rocks, bricks, the sun and other natural background sources.
Similar readings were detected in Washington State, further up the US west coast, on Wednesday and Thursday, it said, adding that Xenon-133 is a gas produced in "that poses no concern at the detected level."
Overall, however, the EPA's network of radiation sensors across the US mainland, as well as in Hawaii and Guam in the Pacific, "has not detected any radiation levels of concern," the statement added.
"In addition to EPA's RadNet system, the US Department of Energy has radiation monitoring equipment at research facilities around the country, which have also not detected any of concern," it added.
US authorities including President Barack Obama have repeatedly said they expect no harmful levels of radiation to reach the US or its territories in the Pacific.
But concerns over fallout from the Fukushima power plant, crippled by last Friday's killer earthquake and tsunami, led to a rush to stockpile , which can protect against radiation.
The Sacramento monitor was part of a network feeding data to the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, designed to detect "an underground nuclear test on the other side of the world."
"These detectors are extremely sensitive and can detect minute amounts of radioactive materials," it added.
(c) 2011 AFP
"US detects 'minuscule' radioactivity from Japan" March 18, 2011 http://phys.org/news/2011-03-minuscule-radioactivity-japan.html |
Keeping food costs down
Published Sunday, April 12, 2009
Recently, a congressional report was released that said that the increased use of ethanol as a fuel additive could cost the government up to $900 million for food stamps and child nutrition programs.
It took a moment for my brain to make the connection when I first saw this report. Ethanol, of course, comes from corn and thus why it has an effect on food prices. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report, the higher use of ethanol accounted for about a 10 to 15 percent rise in food prices between April 2007 and April 2008. That translates into higher costs for food programs for the needy, but it doesn't stop there, it also translate into all consumers paying more at the grocery store.
Nearly 3 billion bushels of corn were used to produce ethanol in the United States last year an increase of almost a billion bushels over 2007.
Last year's higher gas prices, coupled with drought or floods in food production areas of the world are taking a toll on supply and demand.
Last May, a report was released by the World Bank stating that in a two month period rice increased in price by 75% globally. You may even remember some of the stories from last summer about the price of rice.
Wheat prices from 2007 to 2008 rose by more than 120 percent according to the World Bank report.
All of this makes it harder and harder to feed our families, especially with layoffs, hour or wage cuts and other things cutting deeply into families budgets.
I know my own family is having a hard time making the same amount of money stretch each week and it is increasingly difficult for seniors on fixed incomes like pensions and social security.
So what are the cheapest foods around?
1. Oats are still cheap. A dollar will buy you a week's worth of breakfasts or make oatmeal cookies or homemade granola bars.
2. Eggs I've mentioned before in my column. They are a great source of protein and are the cheapest form of protein as well.
3. Potatoes are still one of the cheapest staples and can be used in all sorts of ways that even kids enjoy.
4. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away these are a cheap, single serving sweet that is good for you. Or you can make it not so good by incorporating apples into cakes, breakfast breads, pies and other sweets. They cost very little and can do a lot, much like potatoes.
5. Dried beans are a cheap form of protein and high in fiber. Pintos, garbanzo, lentils, navy beans, black beans all are good for you and can be eaten alone or in recipes. Make a pot of pinto beans and serve with corn bread then take the left overs and make chili the next day and if there is left over chili make enchiladas, or burritos or use the chili to top a hot dog for a chili dog.
6. Milk. Yes, the price of milk and milk products have risen but compared to other drinks full of protein, vitamins and minerals you might be better off drinking the milk, even if you add chocolate to it.
7. Pasta is a great source of vitamins and complex carbohydrates. It is one of the cheapest staples you can buy for your pantry and things like spaghetti can go a long way for very little cost.
8. Even though the cost of rice went up dramatically last year, even in the U.S. it is still relatively cheap. If you choose wild rice or brown rice, you may like the different flavors or consistencies too. It can also make a stir fry produce more servings for your family. Fried rice is another option that uses more rice and vegetables than it does meat. So you can use a good cut of a smaller amount of meat that costs less and your dish will still be as filling.
My Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup raisins
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch grated nutmeg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets and set aside. Place the raisins in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until plump and moist, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and eggs, and beat to combine. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Stir into the butter mixture, and add the buttermilk, stirring to mix. Fold in the oatmeal, raisins and nuts blending well. Drop the dough onto the baking sheets by rounded tablespoons, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool. These cookies tend to stick together and are very moist, so place wax paper between rows when storing.
Sources the Associated Press and WorldBank.org.
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Royal Botanic Garden Sydney celebrates 200 years
Saturday 30 January 2016 12:32PM (view full episode)
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, established in 1815 by Governor Macquarie, is the oldest botanic garden and scientific institution in Australia. It is home to an outstanding collection of plants from around the world with a focus on plants from Australia and the South Pacific. In its 200th year, Executive Director Kim Ellis describes the history of the garden and some events planned for a year of celebrations.
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Robyn Williams: Just over 200 years ago the volcano called Mount Tambora in Indonesia blew up with the biggest such explosion in recorded history. It sent 160 cubic kilometres of lava, ash and rock up into the sky and helped change history. Shortly afterwards we established our first European-style scientific institution here. Kim Ellis is the chief executive officer of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney.
Take us back to 1816. What was it like?
Kim Ellis: 1816 was the end of the Napoleonic wars. There had been terrible fighting throughout Europe. Armies were now disbanded and returning to their home countries, and of course suddenly there's unbelievable levels of unemployment, not seen before. Political intrigue follows that. But much worse, in 1815 there has been significant volcanic eruptions, and now there is a cloud over the Earth that is actually reducing sunlight, and they are going through climate change. It was called the year without a summer. There was widespread famine. Tens of thousands of people died simply because the crops didn't germinate. They say potatoes froze in the ground as they grew.
So now we've got this widespread famine right throughout Europe. At the same time we've got the Luddites very active. So they'd been active all the way through to 1816, still smashing mills. And in England the Luddites and their townfolks are actually being clubbed and killed and murdered by the constabulary. So it's a time of great injury. And of course here in the colony we've got Governor Macquarie doing one of the most visionary actions, he is establishing the Royal Botanic Garden at Sydney.
Robyn Williams: And I also remember, before we leave Europe, there was this amazing dinner, two or three days in Switzerland by Lake Geneva. Mary Shelley, very young, only 18, with Lord Byron, and Percy Shelley, making up fantasies, and Mary Shelley invented Frankenstein because they were sheltering from this terrible cold.
Kim Ellis: And of course you could imagine what it would have been like at the time, just for a bit of vision, think of Turner's paintings, those red skies he painted, it wasn't his interpretation, that was the sky at the time, reducing the sun's rays and affecting the plants and of course affecting people's food.
Robyn Williams: Isn't it amazing. In Sydney, as you mentioned, setting up of the Royal Botanic Garden, the first scientific institution in this country's history, why did they set up? What was going on?
Kim Ellis: Well, at the time botany was actually a very popular thing. Throughout Europe it had become a focal point, and of course this was a brand new country, so everything they saw was new. What Macquarie was conscious of is that the collections that were being made here were being sent back to England. There was no formal repository here, so the idea was to establish this area as a garden, establish a formal process of undertaking botanic sciences and establishing a collection. It wasn't just of course for science purposes. There were actually the idea of getting plants from Europe and establishing them here in the colony. So there was a very strong commercial background. The best trees to grow, what crops would prosper. And of course at the same time the element of the garden was to provide a kitchen for Government House. Then of course it became very controversial later on with a number of directors saying they didn't want to be kitchen gardeners, they wanted to be botanists.
Robyn Williams: And you reproduced the garden. It's still there, isn't it?
Kim Ellis: Yes, in the middle of Farm Cove and the central gardens we've actually gotten an element of those food crops that were part of the establishment of the Governor's kitchen. Of course you got to remember that Farm Cove area was also extremely important as an Indigenous food source. At the time Farm Cove was far deeper than it was and it provided a lot of shellfish and fish for the Indigenous tribes.
Robyn Williams: As the Botanic Garden became more and more established, what sort of things changed? Obviously it got bigger, but in terms of research what kind of things went on?
Kim Ellis: I think the most important element of the changes in the garden were the focus on the Australian collections. So as more and more explorers travelled around Australia, so it became more and more important for those collections to have a repository in Australia, and the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney became that repository. The first director, Charles Fraser, who I have some affinity with because, like me, he was a soldier turned superintendent, he travelled on a broad range of explorations, including trips to Western Australia. He was part of that early exploration with Swan and a range of other explorers. Those samples came back. And the level of research continued on a commercial basis but also they began to establish the national herbarium, which of course the herbarium now, it's at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, it's got more than 1.3 million specimens. It is without doubt the most important collection of preserved plants in Australia.
Robyn Williams: And I hope the salary for the director has gone up since?
Kim Ellis: Well yes, Charles Fraser had a starting salary of five shillings that went to seven shillings, but I think the Governor then decided that he was suitable and fit for the role, and his salary ended up at around £250 a year. My salary is not much better.
Robyn Williams: Well, some of the stories that involve science are rather surprising. The one I found rather incredible was with CSI-type forensic science to do with murders and so on or disappearances.
Kim Ellis: We have quite a comprehensive pathology lab hidden away with almost military style precision and we will be opening that up and letting the public see what goes on there. The concept of plant pathology is a very interesting one, it focuses on diseases. We take samples from all over the country and look at the diseases that are affecting plants. But it also gets involved in day-to-day policing. So we actually have the police engaged.
One of my favourite stories with the scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens was their role in solving the Graeme Thorne kidnapping case in 1960. So this is a tragic tale of a young boy who is kidnapped, his father wins the Opera House lottery, a very valuable sum at the time. His son is kidnapped and murdered. But the solution to the crime was based on plant specimens found on the blanket and on the body, and it was the scientists at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney that actually solved that crime. So it's a sad tale but with a very good botanic outcome.
Robyn Williams: And of course since then you've got outlying botanic gardens in two places, apart from here in Sydney.
Kim Ellis: Yes, we've got the Australian Botanic Garden at Campbelltown, at Mount Annan. It's a really stunning garden with a very strong theme of Australian plants and it incorporates as well as formal central gardens, amazing rolling plains of Australian grassland and supporting plants.
The other garden is the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mount Tomah, so this is a cold climate botanic garden, and we focus on internationally sourced plants that are cold climate specialists. One of my favourites that is just finishing flowering is a Blue Puya, so it's a very rare plant from the Chilean Andes, stunning blue teal flowers in it. And we've had thousands of people visit the garden for that.
Robyn Williams: And you mentioned international, of course the relationship with the various other botanic gardens, famously Kew Gardens, inevitably, one of the very first, 350 years old essentially. How are they maintained? Are you in touch with all gardens everywhere?
Kim Ellis: Principally it's a physical connection. We have a terrific sponsorship program which is run by the foundation and friends of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and they provide six scholarships are year which gets our scientists, often the junior ones who would never have a chance to travel overseas, to those gardens to actually work. And as well as that of course there are a range of other initiatives that we share with them, seed collecting initiatives and others that maintain that really strong connection.
Robyn Williams: Well Kim, 2016, what sort of events can we look forward to during the year?
Kim Ellis: It is going to be an amazing year, Robyn. 2016 will be a year of celebration. We've got of course the opening of the Calyx on June 13, so the Calyx is the new horticultural display centre. It is going to be quite an amazing vision, focused on chocolate. And why chocolate? Because chocolate, like most of our lives, is based in plants, so it's a great way for us to bring botany to people.
We've got the Scott sisters exhibit in September which is our collaboration with the Australian Museum. These are two…Harriet and Helena are two remarkable women who stepped into the male world of botany, travelled the country doing sketching, an amazing piece of work, and I think it just resonates with both the science and the women in science roles. So we are collaborating with the National Library, so we've got a really wonderful connection there. We've got connections with the art gallery, and we've got an amazing art exhibit in the upper gardens in September with the John Caldor public art exhibit.
So for those that don't know, in the upper gardens, from the conservatorium to the library was the Garden Palace. Three times the size of the Queen Victoria Building, in a similar style, opened in 1879, burned to the ground in 1882, and it took with it the full Indigenous collection at the time and the 1881 census. Rumours abound that it was burnt down to destroy the records of the census by Sydney's elite at the time, or the Macquarie Street residents set it on fire to improve their view. I think it's much more likely that considering it was the first building in Australia built with electrical wiring, it was probably just an electrical fault.
Robyn Williams: How did it happen to be the first building with electrical wiring? I had no idea of that.
Kim Ellis: Well, in 1879 electrical wiring was being introduced but it was being retrofitted on a whole range of existing buildings. This building was built specifically for the wiring and for electric lighting. But of course think back: no safety fuses, cloth covered wiring, and there were no electricians in Australia. So this wiring was pre-made in the UK, shipped out, and then nailed into the building. And it's a recipe for disaster. I think we are actually quite lucky because if it was still there today it wouldn't be part of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, somebody else would be administering it.
Robyn Williams: 1816 to 2016, this year of celebration for our oldest scientific institution, the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney. Kim Ellis is the Garden's chief executive.
Kim Ellis
Executive Director
Botanic Gardens & Centennial Parklands
Sydney NSW
Robyn Williams
David Fisher
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1. The quality of being sharply defined or stated; one measure of precision is the number of distinguishable alternatives to a measurement.
2. In statistics, the inverse of the variance of a measurement or estimate.
3. Reproducibility of a quantifiable result; an indication of the random error.
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Definitions for acumenəˈkyu mən, ˈæk yə-
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word acumen
Princeton's WordNet
1. acumen(noun)
a tapering point
2. insightfulness, acumen(noun)
shrewdness shown by keen insight
1. acumen(Noun)
quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination
2. Origin: From acumen.
Webster Dictionary
1. Acumen(noun)
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
1. Acumen
ak-ū′men, n. sharpness: quickness of perception: penetration. [L. See Acute.]
1. Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of acumen in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
2. Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of acumen in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3
Sample Sentences & Example Usage
1. Bart Chilton:
Secretary Clinton will be well served by his financial and strategic acumen, i know he's deeply committed to the Secretary, and to her public policy agenda.
2. Monica Phromsavanh:
I was ready to create something worthy of the business acumen I had developed over the years, and that matched the potential I knew I had, i wanted to reach a greater audience than I could through a traditional retail setting.
3. Wei Peiran:
4. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer:
His character and fundamental decency are at the core of why he's been such a successful and beloved leader. He's so respected by our caucus for his strength, his legislative acumen, his honesty and his determination. He has left a major mark on this body, this country, and on so many who have met him, gotten to know him, and love him.
5. Emeasoba George:
You are a unique human who has never been seen/known on earth before. And your uniqueness will never be seen/known again. Yes, as a matter of fact, your fingerprint is peculiar, your acumen is outstanding, your reasoning is spectacular, your grasp is uncommon. In other words, everything about you is unprecedented. Thus, dare to be/remain uniqiue in all you do.
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Translations for acumen
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In each trimester, a few things may, in some cases, go less than smoothly. The following paragraphs describe some of the things that can happen during the first trimester of your pregnancy and what they may mean to you.
Early in pregnancy, around the time of your missed period, experiencing a little bleeding from the vagina isn’t uncommon. The amount of bleeding is usually less than what you would expect with a period and lasts for only one or two days.
This is called implantation bleeding, and it happens when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterus’s lining. Bleeding due to implantation isn’t a cause for concern, but many women may be confused by it and mistake it for their period.
Bleeding also may occur later in the first trimester, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate a miscarriage. About one-third of women experience bleeding during the first trimester, and the majority of them go on to have perfectly healthy babies. Bleeding is especially common in women carrying more than one fetus — and again, most go on to have normal pregnancies.
Bright red bleeding usually indicates active bleeding, while dark staining usually indicates old blood that is making its way out from the cervix and vagina. Most of the time, an ultrasound exam doesn’t show any evidence of the source of the bleeding.
However, sometimes a collection of blood, known as a subchorionic or retroplacental hemorrhage or collection, is visible and indicates an area of bleeding from behind the placenta. It usually takes several weeks for this blood to be reabsorbed. During this time, some dark blood continues to pass out through the cervix and vagina.
In some cases, bleeding can be the first sign of an impending miscarriage. In this case, the bleeding often accompanies abdominal cramping. However, keep in mind that the vast majority of women who experience bleeding go on to have a completely normal pregnancy.
If you notice some bleeding, let your practitioner know. If the bleeding is a small amount and not associated with a lot of abdominal cramping, it isn’t an emergency. However, if you’re bleeding very heavily (much more than a period), call your practitioner as soon as you can.
The great majority of pregnancies proceed normally. But about one in five ends in early miscarriage, often before a woman even knows she’s pregnant. If a miscarriage occurs early in a pregnancy, you may mistake it for a regular menstrual period.
About half the time, chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo cause the miscarriage. In another 20 percent of cases, the embryo may have structural defects that are too small to be detectable by ultrasound or pathological examination.
Having one miscarriage doesn’t mean that you have an increased chance of it happening again. Also, no routine everyday activities can cause a miscarriage.
Miscarriage may lead to cramping and bleeding. You may feel abdominal pains that are stronger than menstrual cramps, and you may pass fetal and placental tissue. In cases where all the tissue is passed, your practitioner doesn’t need to do anything else.
Often, though, some tissue remains in your uterus, and you may need medication to encourage its passing or have a D&C (dilation and curettage) procedure, designed to empty the uterus. Your doctor dilates, or gently opens, the cervix with surgical instruments and then empties the remaining contents of the uterus with a suction device and/or a scraping of the uterus.
A D&C can be performed either in the doctor’s office or in an operating suite, depending on the doctor, the gestational age, and any other important medical problems.
Sometimes, you may have no overt signs of miscarriage. Your practitioner may discover during a routine prenatal visit that the fetus is no longer alive, which is known as a missed abortion. If you have a missed abortion very early in your pregnancy, a D&C may not be necessary.
But if it happens later in the first trimester, you may need to have a D&C to reduce the risk of heavy bleeding or incomplete passage of tissue. Depending on your obstetrical history and your desire to try to determine the cause of the miscarriage, you may decide to have the tissue sent for genetic analysis (to find out whether the chromosomes were normal or abnormal).
Because half of all miscarriages are due to chromosomal abnormalities, it may be useful to find out whether this was the cause.
Unfortunately, most miscarriages can’t be prevented. Many, if not most, of them may simply be nature’s way of handling an abnormal pregnancy. However, having a miscarriage doesn’t mean that you can’t have a perfectly normal pregnancy in the future. In fact, even in women who have had two consecutive miscarriages, the chances are very good (about 70 percent) that the next pregnancy will be successful without any special treatment.
Ectopic pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus — in one of the fallopian tubes, the ovary, the abdomen, or the cervix. An ectopic pregnancy is a serious threat to the mother’s health. Fortunately, ultrasound has advanced to the point that it can detect ectopic pregnancies very early.
Signs of an ectopic pregnancy that you may notice include vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, pelvic pain, dizziness, and feeling faint. You may not have any symptoms, in which case your doctor identifies the condition during an ultrasound.
Your doctor can treat the problem in one of several ways, depending on the location of the embryo or fetus, how far along the pregnancy is, and the particular symptoms you are experiencing. Unfortunately, a doctor can’t move the embryo or fetus to the uterus so that the pregnancy can continue as normal. |
Public Release: Violent video games: More playing time equals more aggression
Ohio State University
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A new study provides the first experimental evidence that the negative effects of playing violent video games can accumulate over time.
"It's important to know the long-term causal effects of violent video games, because so many young people regularly play these games," Bushman said.
"Playing video games could be compared to smoking cigarettes. A single cigarette won't cause lung cancer, but smoking over weeks or months or years greatly increases the risk. In the same way, repeated exposure to violent video games may have a cumulative effect on aggression."
Bushman conducted the study with Youssef Hasan and Laurent Bègue of the University Pierre Mendès-France, in Grenoble, France, and Michael Scharkow of the University of Hohenheim in Germany.
Their results are published online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and will appear in a future print edition.
The study involved 70 French university students who were told they would be participating in a three-day study of the effects of brightness of video games on visual perception.
They were then assigned to play a violent or nonviolent video game for 20 minutes on each of three consecutive days.
Those assigned the violent games played Condemned 2, Call of Duty 4 and then The Club on consecutive days (in a random order). Those assigned the nonviolent games played S3K Superbike, Dirt2 and Pure (in a random order).
After playing the game each day, participants took part in an exercise that measured their hostile expectations. They were given the beginning of a story, and then asked to list 20 things that the main character will do or say as the story unfolds. For example, in one story another driver crashes into the back of the main character's car, causing significant damage. The researchers counted how many times the participants listed violent or aggressive actions and words that might occur.
Students in the study then participated in a competitive reaction time task, which is used to measure aggression. Each student was told that he or she would compete against an unseen opponent in a 25-trial computer game in which the object was to be the first to respond to a visual cue on the computer screen.
The loser of each trial would receive a blast of unpleasant noise through headphones, and the winner would decide how loud and long the blast would be. The noise blasts were a mixture of several sounds that most people find unpleasant (such as fingernails on a chalk board, dentist drills, and sirens). In actuality, there was no opponent and the participants were told they won about half the trials.)
The results showed that, after each day, those who played the violent games had an increase in their hostile expectations. In other words, after reading the beginning of the stories, they were more likely to think that the characters would react with aggression or violence.
"People who have a steady diet of playing these violent games may come to see the world as a hostile and violent place," Bushman said. "These results suggest there could be a cumulative effect."
This may help explain why players of the violent games also grew more aggressive day by day, agreeing to give their opponents longer and louder noise blasts through the headphones.
"Hostile expectations are probably not the only reason that players of violent games are more aggressive, but our study suggests it is certainly one important factor," Bushman said.
Students who played the nonviolent games showed no changes in either their hostile expectations or their aggression, Bushman noted.
He said it is impossible to know for sure how much aggression may increase for those who play video games for months or years, as many people do.
Contact: Brad Bushman, (614) 688-8779;
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457;
|
Social Grade
Social grade is a classification system based on occupation.
It was developed for use on the NRS, and for over 50 years NRS has been the research industry’s source of social grade data.
The classifications are as follows:
% of population (NRS 2015)
A Higher managerial, administrative and professional 4
B Intermediate managerial, administrative and professional 23
C1 Supervisory, clerical and junior managerial, administrative and professional 27
C2 Skilled manual workers 21
D Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers< 16
E State pensioners, casual and lowest grade workers, unemployed with state benefits only 9
The NRS interview includes detailed questions about the occupation of the Chief Income Earner (CIE) to establish social grade. Questions include not just what the CIE’s job is, but details such as their qualifications and the number of people they are responsible for.
The household is classified according to the CIE’s occupation, but social grade data are also available for the respondent themselves (if they are not the CIE).
Income is not part of the social grade classification. However there is a strong correlation between income and social grade as the following chart shows.
Some people have questioned the relevance of social grade as society becomes more diverse, and targeting more precise.
Social grade was never intended to describe every aspect of society. Nor does it describe consumer motivations. Its on-going value lies in its discriminatory power as a relatively simple target group indicator.
The following charts show some examples of the discriminatory power of social grade – first in terms of consumer behaviour and then media behaviour.
A wide range of other data are available for use in combination with social grade, including age, income, family stage, lifestyle etc.
There are also other classification systems available on the NRS which can be used as well as or instead of social grade. These include:
• The Government grading of social class (NS-SEC)
• Financial ACORN
• Financial Mosaic |
Untitled Document
Pea Straw
Pea straw is a very effective garden mulch with added benefits of adding nutrients to the soil.
What form is the pea straw sold in?
The pea straw bales come in what is considered 'standard small bales' out of the paddock. Each bale is approximately 1 metre in length x 35 cm height x 50 cm width.
What is pea straw?
Pea straw is the stem of the field pea plant which provided peas for stock feed. Once the peas have been harvested, the remaining plant matter is packaged into small manageable square bales.
What is pea straw used for?
Pea straw is predominantly used as garden mulch. It reduces water loss from the soil and put nutrients such as nitrogen back into the soil as it decomposes. Pea straw can also be used for animal bedding.
Benefits of pea straw in the garden?
Pea straw is a commonly used garden mulch with numerous benefits. These include:
Water Saving: Generous use of pea straw mulch can reduce watering by 60%. Pea straw mulch prevents loss of soil moisture by evaporation, but still allows rain to penetrate to the soil.
Weed Reduction: A thick layer of pea straw can actively suppress weeds from growing through the mulch layer and prevent seeds of weeds from germinating.
Nutrients: As pea straw mulch decomposes, it releases nutrients such as nitrogen back into the soil.
Organic Matter: Pea straw increases the organic matter in the soil. This improves soil structure and drainage, and encourages earthworms and soil microbial activity.
Tips for using pea straw
It is important to create a continuous covering with pea straw mulch so that the soil is not visible. Ideally a minimum ground covering of approximately 50 mm - 80 mm is desirable. However, we recommend that you don't hold back, as creating a thick layer is an excellent method to retain soil moisture.
Some plants such as roses, require a small space to be left without mulch around the base of the stem. The high moisture levels created by the mulch can cause rot in the rose stem. Roses still benefit greatly from pea straw mulch, just not right up to the plant stem.
When should I apply pea straw?
Ideally pea straw should be spread liberally around the garden during spring. If application is left until the heat of summer, then much of the natural soil moisture will be lost. |
USB devices need to be ejected
Take a look at your desk for a moment, what do you see that’s connected to your computer? Most people see a mouse, keyboard, monitor and (most likely) their phone. Three of these devices connect to your computer using a USB cable and chances are, you also have other devices like external hard drives you also connect. Be careful when disconnecting them though, if done improperly, you could lose information.
When you plug in a device using a USB connection, your computer and device essentially shake hands and create a connection. When you plug in a device like your phone or external hard drive, it takes a moment for it to show up on your desktop and you’ll get a message telling you a device has been found and connected.
The whole idea of USB is that it’s what’s called hot swappable. This means you can unplug a device and plug in a new one without having to shut down the computer. This is true, you can easily switch devices, however, both Mac and Windows suggest that you eject, or safely remove the device, before you unplug it.
Why eject or safely remove?
Think of the USB cord as a bridge over a river and the data being transferred are people on it. When you disconnect a device without safely removing it, it’s akin to removing the bridge while there are people still on it. The chances of the people surviving are pretty slim. In other words, unplugging a device while it’s being used could result in lost data.
If you have the device plugged in, but are not transferring data you may think it’s okay to just unplug the device. Not so, in fact, chances are high that your computer will be using the device in the background and if you unplug it, you’ll most likely get an error message.
Some devices like mice and keyboards are normally okay to disconnect without ejecting, as the data normally goes only one way. A good rule to go by is: if there’s information on the device, safely remove it.
How to remove USB devices on Windows
If you’re a windows user, go to the bottom right of your screen, where the icons are, and look for the one that says: Eject USB Mass Storage Device. Click it, Windows will eject it and let you know when you can unplug it.
If you can’t find the icon, open My Computer and find the USB device you’d like to disconnect. if it’s your iPhone or an Android phone, it will be what you named the device. Right-click on it and select Eject.
How to remove USB devices on Mac
If you’re a Mac user, you can remove USB devices by clicking on what you want to remove, holding the left mouse button down, and dragging it to the trash (bottom right of the screen). If done right, the trash icon should change to an eject icon (triangle with a horizontal line below it). as soon as the icon disappears, you can remove it.
Alternatively, you can open the Finder – easiest way to do this is double click on your hard drive – find the device in the left side of the window that opens and hit the eject button. When it disappears from the list, you can remove the device.
Safely removing a USB device is a good business practice that all employees should adhere to, ensuring that data isn’t lost. If you have any questions about USB devices or other technological best practices, please contact us.
• Internet Presence Management for Small Business Owners
Learn more about our small business online marketing services. |
2013-06-13 / Schools
WRHS students build ‘antique’ cobb oven
Cameron Sullivan puts in one of the first pizzas.
Joyce Roberts photo Cameron Sullivan puts in one of the first pizzas. Joyce Roberts photo Just outside the high school is a primitive looking structure, made of a red brick base with a round adobe top. It’s called a cob oven, and its design is many centuries old.
How this cob oven made it from drafting stage to build out is all new, however, since it is this year’s project by the students enrolled in the Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Machinery (CAD/CAM) class taught by technology education teacher Greg Chandonnet.
A cob oven is an earthen oven used outside for cooking virtually any type of food.
First step of the process was designing and building an oversized wooden pallet that would support 1500 pounds. Brick retaining wall block was used for the oven base. To eliminate the possibility of burning the wooden pallet, two layers of empty glass bottles were used as a thermal break between the pallet and the base block. Sand was packed between and above the bottles for insulation.
A layer of firebrick was laid for a cooking base and two cob oven domes – inner and outer- were constructed over a temporary sand mold. The inner dome was made of industrial grade refractory cement called heat Cast 40, donated by Robert Rucker of CMS Industries. The outer dome was created from cob, a mixture of clay, sand and straw. The oven was then left to draw for two weeks.
Part of the design consideration for the cob oven was that it has no chimney, so the door has to be sized to allow smoke to exit, while heat remains trapped inside.
Like a wood burning pizza oven, the cob oven is heating by building a fire inside.
Oven temperatures can rise as high as 450 degrees, students learned, and will cook a small pizza in less than 10 minutes.
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How will you observe Memorial Day this year? |
Musicologist Dr. Alison Pawley and psychologist Dr. Daniel Mullensiefen out at the University of London have dabbled into the difficult task of scientifically determining what makes people sing along to certain tunes. Their research has lead them to claim that there are various factors that make a song catchy, and in the process have compiled a list of the UK’s top 10 sing-along songs.
Mullensiefen said, “Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology, from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers that can add effects to make a song more catchy.
“We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song. We hope that our study will inspire musicians of the future to crack the equation for the textbook tune.”
The researchers conclusion was that there are four traits that make a song catchy:
1. Longer and detailed musical phrases. The breath a vocalist takes as they sing a line is crucial to creating a sing-along-able tune. The longer a vocal in one breath, the more likely we are to sing along.
Freddie Mercury possessed all the necessary frontman skills to write and perform a "catchy" song. More like momentus, if you ask me.
2. Higher number of pitches in the chorus hook. The more sounds there are, the more infectious a song becomes. Combining longer musical phrases and a hook over three different pitches was found to be key to sing-along success.
3. Male vocalists. Singing along to a song may be a subconscious war cry, tapping into an inherent tribal part of our consciousness. Psychologically we look to men to lead us into battle, so it could be in our intuitive nature to follow male-fronted songs.
4. Higher male voices with noticeable vocal effort. This indicates high energy and purpose, particularly when combined with a smaller vocal range (Freddie Mercury of Queen and Jon Bon Jovi).
The determine these factors, the researchers went under-cover and observed over 1100 instances of people singing along in the real-life context of pubs and clubs across northern England, counting how many people sang along to each song. Then, after performing an extensive musical analysis and correlating with contextual variables gathered using various data mining techniques, they were able to rank a list of sing-a-long classics. Here’s how the top 10 UK sing-a-long looks like:
1. ‘We are the Champions’, Queen (1977)
2. ‘Y.M.C.A’, The Village People (1978)
3. ‘Fat Lip’, Sum 41 (2001)
4. ‘The Final Countdown’, Europe (1986)
5. ‘Monster’, The Automatic (2006)
6. ‘Ruby’, The Kaiser Chiefs (2007)
7. ‘I’m Always Here’, Jimi Jamison (1996)
8. ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, Van Morrison (1967)
9. ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, Wheatus (2000)
10. ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’, Bon Jovi (1986)
I have my serious doubts about the legitimacy of such a list. It’s controversial, not telling that, like any kind of top 10 list trying to rank songs, but either way I can appreciate the hard work the researchers put in for the study. It tries to show how science and engineering fundamentals are linked together and can describe all sorts of patterns that influence our lives, including music. Again, music is terribly subjective by nature, and I’m certain a lot of people will jump at this flaming.
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• What a load of BS
• The legitimacy of this list only has to answer to the parameters of the study: statistical attributes of music that is used in sing-along settings of everyday life in northern England. The list changes per different regions around the world. If you run every popular song in existence through the 4 criteria, obviously you can find stronger contenders to make up a list less controversial or to personal liking. But the assumption of the study remains: a catchy song is what’s useful to the cultural life in today’s northern England (i.e. influenced by business and miscellaneous cultural factors outside the science of music) – not some absolute “value” they’re digging up in annals of pop music history.
• After the Veet/Clarion Communications case ( ) I have been pretty suspicious on this kind of studies.
• RealityCheck
Applying ‘science’ to the ‘art’ of music is completely ridiculous!
Scientists just can’t cope with the fact that the catchiness of music is an absolute intangible which cannot be described by scientific analysis. Sure musical theory has a mathematical base, but many extremely successful musicians can’t even read music. Composers use their brains in a way that ‘brainy’ scientists can’t understand and this bothers them because musicians are cleverer than they are in this aspect.
The proof is clear – an 18 year old kid can write a hit song using an ‘intangible’ process and become a chart success. A scientist needs to study for years in order to be successful. Hence – science is a learned process and music is a natural gift. Also the number of FAILED bands is further evidence that not everyone has that gift.
We cannot break down music into “maths, science, engineering and technology”. If it was that easy the likes of Sony, Universal, EMI etc would not be paying millions to dope-smoking bohemian artists to write hit records. They would have commissioned “musicologists” to write music based on scientific formulae. What a joke!
• Ferroxian
Wha…? The researcher never heard of ‘Motown’, The Temptations, the Supremes, Berry Gordy, WILSON PICKETT, JANIS JOPLIN, excuse me…I was starting to get angry, please forgive…send this person to my office…at once!
• Shannonjamesmcdonald
Well, actually… the reason people can write catchy music without breaking it down into science and knowing anything about music theory is because those people instinctively write what they feel is pleasurable to them and sticks to their minds… in effect creates a catchy tune… artists who only write extremely complex music don’t normally become very known or famous… people with a deep interest in music will have more of a chance finding them rather than the general public… ever heard of Protest The Hero? Likely not… science does not go against art, science is simply the human attempt to understand the unknown using trial and error and alot of processes to gain factual information… big record labels do spend millions on musicologists and other music experts, this is the reason when an artists becomes signed to a major label, their style changes and they become much more ”poppy” for that time untill their musical talent isn’t needed or becomes out of date, there is alot to know about science and art but the more one knows the more one understands they go hand in hand…
• Music is decoded in the brain, how can it not be very heavily dependent on science? All art is dependent on science.
• Si
Once upon a time Art and Science were the same thing, Art is a way of understanding the world as much as it is a way of expression. Ask Leonardo Da Vinci |
The Slimy Seventeen
The Biggest Oil Threats to the Amazon
These seventeen oil companies are causing catastrophic damage to the Amazon rainforest and threatening the indigenous communities that call it home. Indigenous leaders have asked us all to keep the oil in the ground in the Amazon. This list is a tool that you can use to help them protect their home and our collective planet.
Many of the companies are highlighted as part of the Carbon Underground 200, the companies with the world's largest fossil fuel reserves. The scientific community agrees that we need to keep some 80% of fossil fuels in the ground in order to avert climate catastrophe, so burning their reserves is incompatible with our continued survival.
Make sure that you are not invested in the Slimy Seventeen, and call on your government, university, and place of worship to take their investments out of these companies and reinvest them in community-based clean energy solutions. Divestment challenges the political power of these rogue actors that receive billions of dollars of our tax money in subsidies, that own many of our politicians. Divestment is a way to reclaim our democracies, the places that we love, and our planet.
Most of the companies are publicly traded, and some have other pressure points to leverage. Over following weeks we will shine a light on the worst of the worst and give you some tools to dissuade them from continuing to wreak havoc on the Amazon. Can't wait? Get started with GoFossilFree's Action Toolkit.
Publicly Traded Companies:
British Petroleum (BP)
6th on the Carbon Underground 200
BP, a company notorious for its contamination of the Gulf Coast, has begun to move into the Amazon rainforest. In 2012 it acquired a stake in a gas project in Solimoes Basin, a part of the Brazilian Amazon where few companies have operated due to concerns about the environmental impact of oil and gas in the region.
Chevron (CVX)
9th on the Carbon Underground 200
Chevron, which last month was crowned the world's worst company, spent over two decades deliberately poisoning 30,000 indigenous people and campesinos in the Ecuadorian Amazon. After a 20-year legal battle Chevron was ordered to pay $9.5 billion, but instead of compensating the communities it contaminated, it has hired 2,000 lawyers and paralegals to attack its victims, their lawyers, and activist groups like Amazon Watch that have dared to hold it accountable.
Ecopetrol (EC)
29th on the Carbon Underground 200
Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol has repeatedly violated the territorial rights of the U'wa people. Ecopetrol, which owns the Magallanes gas project in U'wa territory, attempted to militarize the area after the U'wa forbid workers from entering their territory. After a 40-day stand-off, Ecopetrol has agreed to temporarily suspend production while they conducts a socio-environmental impact study.
14th on the Carbon Underground 200
The Kichwa, Achuar, Shuar, and Zapara nationalities of Ecuador's western Amazon are fiercely opposed to the operations of ENI (E) subsidiary AGIP. In September the company announced a new 300,000 barrel find, but AGIP's presence has exacerbated tensions in the area that have led to intrafamilial armed conflicts.
Geopark (GPRK)
Geopark has interest in oil and gas projects that cover four million acres of South America.
Geopark has interest in oil and gas projects that cover four million acres of South America. In October 2014 Petroperu announced it would partner with GeoPark on the development of an oil block containing 55 million barrels of proven and probable light crude reserves. The oil block is in the Amazonian province of Loreto, where the Kichwa and the Achuar tribes have seized oil wells, demanding compensation for decades of contamination. Over the years Achuar opposition has forced Occidental, Arco, and Talisman to all leave the region.
Pacific Rubiales Energy (PRE)
79th on the Carbon Underground 200
The Matsés tribe, whose brothers and sisters would likely be decimated by Pacific Rubiales's plans to drill in an uncontacted peoples' reserve on the Peruvian-Brazilian border, have called on shareholders including JP Morgan, General Electric, Blackrock, HSBC, Allianz, Santander and Legal and General to divest from the Canadian oil giant.
The Matsés, who have publicly opposed Pacific Rubiales' attempts to exploit their territory for over five years, have said that they don't want conflict, but they will defend their territory with bows and arrows if oil workers attempt to enter. Matsés leader Raimundo Mean Mayoruna said, "My message to the companies is that they respect our decision and understand we've lived here for a long time and want to live in peace. We didn't come from any other place. We're from here."
Petrobras (PBR)
7th on the Carbon Underground 200
Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras, in the midst of a massive corruption scandal that has engulfed Brazil, has started to explore for oil and gas reserves in one of the most isolated parts of the Brazilian Amazon. Petrobras began exploration without the authorization of the seven indigenous nationalities that live in the region, the Brazilian indigenous ministry or even Brazil's National Oil Agency. This could wipe out the Hi Merimã, a nearby people living in voluntary isolation.
PetroChina (PTR)
3rd on the Carbon Underground 200
PetroChina is the publicly traded subsidiary of the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which is negotiating with the Ecuadorian government to finance drilling in Yasuní-ITT. The area is one of the most biodiverse places in the Amazon rainforest and is home to Ecuador's last two indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation. CNPC sparked a divestment movement with its funding of the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and in October 2014 it agreed to pay Chad $400 million for massive contamination.
The Peruvian state oil company will begin to sell its shares on the stock exchange starting in the second quarter of 2015. In a move that should raise eyebrows for its future shareholders, it is attempting to operate in Block 64, the territory of Achuar communities that have repeatedly rejected any oil activity and have effectively expelled multiple transnational companies since 1995.
Repsol (REPYY)
38th on the Carbon Underground 200
Madrid-based Repsol (REPYY) has adopted a progressive indigenous community relations policy, but its operations in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon don't live up to its standards. Repsol, which has long operated in Ecuador's Yasuní National Park, committed to obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of communities where it operates. However, it has submitted a bid on Ecuador's Block 29 despite the fact that only 4% of the people who would be impacted by the project have been consulted.
After Norway's pension fund threatened to divest, Repsol sold its stake in Peru's Block 39, an area home to ‘uncontacted' indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation. However, it is still a partners in the massive Camisea Gas Project, which is also home to communities living in voluntary isolation.
Sinopec (SNP)
17th on the Carbon Underground 200
Sinopec, a Chinese oil giant infamous for its operations in Canada's tar sands, operates in three blocks in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon through a joint subsidiary with CNPC called Andes Petroleum. Andes has submitted bids on blocks 79 and 83, a huge swath of pristine rainforest that is home to the Sápara and the Kichwa of Sarayaku. For decades both peoples have successfully resisted the incursion of oil companies into their territories.
Private Companies and Wholly State-Owned Enterprises:
Belorusneft and ENAP
Belarusian state oil company Belarusneft and Chilean state oil company ENAP have entered into an agreement with Petroamazonas to drill in an area of the western Ecuadorian Amazon that includes Kichwa territory and Puyo, the regional capital. Belorusneft is now doing seismic testing in the area. This is despite a deeply flawed and inadequate consultation process that has violated the Ecuadorian constitution and international law.
Ecuadorian state oil company PetroEcuador, which in some areas operates under the name PetroAmazonas, inherited Chevron's sites in the Ecuadorian Amazon. While the company has better environmental safeguards than Texaco (now Chevron) did, it is still a major environmental and human rights offender. The company operates most of Ecuador's oil fields, and Ecuador reports an oil spill nearly every week. Petroamazonas recently built an illegal road into the heart of Yasuní National Park where there are communities living in voluntary isolation. It is now trying to secure financing from China to operate in the most biodiverse and culturally fragile part of the park, Yasuní-ITT.
In 2012 a leaked report showed that Anglo-French oil and gas company Perenco tried to hide the existence of uncontacted tribes in an oil block where it was attempting to operate. The company excluded findings from anthropologists showing the tribes' existence, and the company's Latin America regional manager once compared them to the Loch Ness monster, in that they don't really exist. It is still exploring in the concession, and recently acquired a neighboring oil block from Repsol, which pulled out due to the existence of indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation.
After a monthlong blockade, the Achuar and Quechua of the northern Peruvian Amazon have forced Argentina-based Pluspetrol to promise to pay communities for the company's massive contamination in Block 1-AB, which it operates with PetroChina. However, even if the company pays, it won't come close to compensating communities for the damage it has caused. Peru's industry-friendly Ministry of the Environment was forced to declare four river basins impacted by Pluspetrol's operations "environmental emergencies," and Peru's Ministry of Health has noted that 98% of children in the affected communities have inadmissibly high levels of toxic metals in their blood.
Pluspetrol is also the main operator in the Camisea Group. Other members are Repsol (REPYY), SK Innovation (KS), Sonatrach, Tecpetrol, and Hunt Oil. It is currently trying to expand into the Kugapakori-Nahua-Nanti Reserve, a protected area for tribes living in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact, which could decimate the communities. On Tuesday, February 11th, a 25-year-old protester was reportedly killed by police and thirty people were injured during massive protests over Pluspetrol's operations in the region.
Yes, I will donate to protect the Amazon!
– Charlotte R. A.
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American Animal Control
American Animal Control
Gopher, Vole, and Mole Control Experts
Yard Damage Photos
Moles are insectivores and tunnel through yards looking for earthworms, grubs, and beetles. This activity leaves a subsurface run that exposes the grasses roots to air and killing the grass.
dead grass from mole tunnels
Eastern moles often excavate large amounts of dirt, which form mounds. This is done so the mole can go deeper to find food. In areas like this the tunnels are sometimes harder to find because of their depth.
mounds from an eastern mole
Long, fairly straight runs like this are the mole's traveling runs between food areas and/or resting areas. Moles tend to keep these runs open for quick, easy travel.
mole run coming from neighboring field
Here we see damage done by a gopher to the root system of shrubs in landscaping. They don't always eat the roots, but will chew through them to get where they are going.
roots damaged by gopher
Pocket gopher mounds are typically found in a line like this. Their mounds are wider and less steep compared to mole mounds. They also often have a "dimple" on one side.
mounds made by pocket gopher
As you see here, even a little frost does not stop gophers from looking for food. As long as the tubers they eat aren't frozen they will keep collecting food. They often collect food and store it in caches located underground.
mounds made by pocket gopher in a field
Voles eat the grass as new shoots grow out of the soil. Here you can see the dead areas which look like trails. These trails are often very visible after snow melts in yards and the grass is recovering.
trails in grass made from voles
The damage seen here caused by a vole in a garden. This is an artichoke plant that voles chewed on.
vole damage on garden plants
This is an example of voles chewing on the bark of a small oak tree. This is called girdling. Because of the bark damage this tree will be deformed trying to heal itself.
voles chewing on a small tree |
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Go to the Home page
Home > Publications > NIDA Notes > Vol. 17, No. 3 Tearoff
New Research Report Presents Marijuana Facts
Vol. 17, No. 3 (October 2002)
The latest in NIDA's Research Report series is "Marijuana Abuse," an eight-page pamphlet that summarizes current scientific knowledge of marijuana and its effects. "Today's marijuana is far more potent than the marijuana of 30 years ago," says NIDA Acting Director Dr. Glen R. Hanson. "The drug can produce a range of adverse physical and emotional effects, and -- contrary to what many people believe -- it can be addictive."
Marijuana Research Report Cover
Acute Effects of Marijuana Use
Marijuana's effects start as soon as the drug enters the brain. The drug's mind-altering effects are caused by tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Just a few minutes after inhalation of marijuana smoke, the user's heart rate accelerates, bronchial passages relax, and blood vessels in the eyes enlarge. Soon the user feels euphoric, experiencing pleasant sensations, colors, and sounds more intensely than usual. He or she may develop a dry mouth and feel very hungry or thirsty. When the euphoria passes, the user may feel sleepy or depressed. Sometimes marijuana use produces anxiety, fear, or panic in the wake of euphoria.
During marijuana intoxication, a user may have difficulty forming memories. THC also interferes with parts of the brain that control balance, posture, and coordination of movement.
With high doses of marijuana, the user may suffer toxic psychosis, including hallucinations, delusions, and a loss of the sense of personal identity. The specific causes are unknown, but toxic effects are more likely when a strong dose of THC is consumed in food or drink rather than smoked.
Long-Term Effects On Health
Marijuana has negative effects on memory and learning skills that are persistent but may not be permanent. Other effects of long-term abuse are cumulative and may last indefinitely. Regular marijuana smokers may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers do: daily cough and phlegm production, frequent respiratory illness, a tendency toward obstructed airways, and a heightened risk of lung infections. Data suggest also that marijuana smoke increases the likelihood that head and neck cancers will develop, and it has the potential to promote lung cancer.
Some adverse effects may result from THC's impairing the immune system. In studies with mice, those exposed to THC or related substances were more likely than the unexposed animals to develop bacterial infections and tumors. In studies that used both animal and human cells exposed to marijuana ingredients, the normal disease-preventing actions of immune cells were inhibited.
A serious risk of long-term marijuana use is addiction -- compulsive use of the drug, even though it interferes with family, school, and work. Withdrawal symptoms and drug craving can make it hard for long-term marijuana users to stop the drug. There are no medications to treat marijuana addiction, but behavioral therapies are available. Researchers are focusing on the most effective forms of counseling and incentives for abstinence.
Effects on School, Work, and Social Life
Students who smoke marijuana get lower grades than those who don't. Workers who smoke it are more likely to have problems on the job. Depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances are all associated with marijuana use. Marijuana interferes with a person's ability to learn and remember information, so frequent users may fall behind in developing intellectual, job, or social skills. Research with students has shown that marijuana use is linked to a reduction in the psychological skills that enable individuals to maintain confidence and persist in their pursuit of goals.
For More Information
"Marijuana Abuse" can be ordered from NIDADrugPubs, publication #PHD940.
Further information about marijuana use and consequences can be found at NIDA's Web site, www.drugabuse.gov, and the new companion site, marijuana-info.org.
Volume 17, Number 3 (October 2002)
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the input voltage is from mp3 player.
Now, why is that when the input voltage is around 5 mv pk, there are no clipping issues but if we change the input voltage to around 400 mv pk(which is common in every mp3 player including mobile phones), there is severe clipping as described below in the picture.
enter image description here
here, we can see there are no clipping issues
but here, we start to inject the mp3 player as the voltage input (400mV)
enter image description here
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up vote 1 down vote accepted
The R1-R2 voltage divider biases the base of Q1 at about 1.17 V.
A 0.4 V excursion below that puts it at 0.77V, which would normally keep it in forward active mode. But the 100 uF capacitor is preventing the emitter voltage from changing, keeping that node at about 0.4 V. That means you only have 0.3 V across Q1's b-e junction at the peak of your input signal, which will pretty effectively put the BJT in cutoff mode.
Having the BJT in cutoff mode will put the Q1 collector at about 10 V, not sensitive to the exact level of the base voltage. And that flat top at 10 V (after a shift going through the C2(?) capacitor, is what you're seeing as clipping.
It might be slightly clearer what's going on if you remove C2 and just directly connect your virtual oscilloscope to the Q1 collector. Then you'll see the actual level where clipping occurs is about 10 V, making it slightly easier to diagnose the problem. (I'm assuming the virtual oscilloscope has a "perfect" input and doesn't cause any loading on the circuit)
You can probably reduce or eliminate the clipping by removing Cb. This will allow the circuit to behave like an "emitter-degenerate" amplifier at the frequency you're running it, reducing the gain as suggested by Anindo, and increasing the input impedance as a side benefit. You would still expect to see clipping if you increased the input amplitude to about 0.5 V (1 V peak-peak).
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The amplifier is going into cutoff saturation with the higher input signal. Also, the input biasing is off by a bit so the clipping is asymmetrical.
• Reduce the gain of the amplifier to keep the output within the linear part of its curve.
• Change the DC biasing of the input signal to center it on the midpoint of the linear part of the output curve.
To do this empirically, use a potentiometer instead of one of the two fixed resistors, to figure out what resistor ratio puts the null point closes to the middle of the output linear curve portion.
Thanks to @ThePhoton for pointing out my incorrect use of "saturation".
share|improve this answer
If the problem was putting the BJT into saturation, you'd expect the clipping to happen when the input voltage is high. Instead, he's seeing clipping when the input is low. – The Photon Nov 22 '12 at 6:55
@ThePhoton Isn't it flattening out when the input approaches lower limit? Maybe I'm misreading it, my mistake. – Anindo Ghosh Nov 22 '12 at 7:12
@AnindoGhosh Not correct - the transistor goes into cutoff but the amplifier "black box" at that time goes to saturation. You shoudl type "the amplifier is going into saturation" or "the transistor is going into cutoff". when transistor does not conduct, output of amplifier is saturated to max it can go. Although the Actions is still correct. – ExcitingProjects Nov 22 '12 at 7:26
@ExcitingProjects I see merit in both viewpoints, yours and ThePhoton's. – Anindo Ghosh Nov 22 '12 at 7:33
Your Answer
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Queries are components that contain statements written in the database language SQL. Opening a query by double clicking on it will open the query in an editing window to show the SQL statement it contains.
images\btn_proj_run.gif Clicking on the query to highlight it in the project pane and pressing the Run button will execute the query and will display the results in the opened window. If there are any errors in the query text (such as typographical errors or SQL syntax errors) the query text will be opened in a query window and the first error located will be highlighted.
Queries are usually used to create tables that contain records and fields from other tables in the project. The SQL statement specifies what the table should contain and how the contents should be displayed. The simplest form of query chooses columns and records from one table and displays them.
Queries are easy to create. Use File - Create - Query to create a new query and then edit it by right clicking on it and choosing Open. Enter the SQL statement desired and close the query. To make it easier for us to write queries, Manifold will automatically color different parts of the query text in different colors.
Whenever the query is run it will execute the SQL statement and will display in the resultant table window whatever table results from the SQL statement. The resultant table may be used like any other.
SQL is an industry standard database query language used to fetch records from tables and to present those records with the fields desired. The result of an SQL query is what appears to be a new table. SQL may also be used to create new tables by combining existing tables, and may even be used to alter the structure of the database and the data it contains.
Note: For very simple, one line queries with drawings an alternative to using queries is to use the Query toolbar .
To create a new query:
1. Select File - Create Query command within main menu, or
2. Press the Create button in the project pane toolbar and select Query, or
3. Right click within the project pane or on any component and select Create - Query.
4. Open the query for editing as described below.
5. Write the SQL statement desired. Changes are made directly to the query. Make a copy of the query if you wish to be able to abandon the changes.
6. Close the query window when done. Run the query as described below.
To edit a query:
1. Select the query component in the project pane and press the Open button on the project pane toolbar, or
2. Right click the component and select Open, or
3. Double click the component.
4. Make any changes to the SQL text contained in the query.
To execute (run) a query:
1. Select the query component in the project pane and press the Run button on the project pane toolbar, or
2. Right click the component and select Run, or
3. Open the query for editing and select Query - Run from main menu.
To export a query as a table:
2. Right click the component and select Run, or
4. Choose File - Export - Table to export as a table.
Let's begin by importing the Orders table from the sample Nwind.mdb database.
The Orders table has many fields related to orders in the sample database. We will create a table that shows the country names for all orders where the freight is greater than 50.
Using File - Create - Query we insert a new query into the project and then open it for editing by double clicking it in the project. We will write a simple SQL query:
SQL is not case sensitive (except for string literals and string operations), nor does SQL care if we write our statements in one line or in multiple lines or if we use indents. Extra parentheses are fine as well. We could write our queries with the terms all jammed together in one line or we can write nice, neat, understandable SQL statements like the above. It is always wise to establish a regular style and stick to it to enhance readability of SQL both for our colleagues as well as for future review by us.
Manifold query windows will automatically color different parts of an SQL query with differently colored text. This helps avoid typographical errors. If we would like to change the colors used by Manifold to color query syntax, the Tools - Options - Colors page includes entries for Query Comment, Query Keyword, Query Number, Query Operator, Query String and Query Text colors. The Tools - Options - Fonts page restricts the choices for the Query font to fixed size fonts.
The query appears in the project pane using the standard Microsoft icon for queries (these are also called "views" in Access). If we select the query in the Project pane and click the Run button in the toolbar, the query opens as a table:
The table created by the query works just like a regular table. For example, if we right click onto the Ship Country column head and choose Sort Ascending from the context menu we can sort the table by this column:
We can also use many other table window commands such as the Best Fit commands.
SQL is a straightforward, easy-to-use query language.
If we would like to see additional fields in our table we can add them to the query as shown above.
The result of running the new query is a table with three fields instead of just one.
Types of Queries
There are two main types of queries: select queries and action queries:
· Select queries show results in tables and always begin with the SQL word select. Select queries choose data from one or more tables and display it in tabular form. Select queries do not change any data in the tables.
· Action queries do not display data but rather perform a task when they are run. Action queries change data in existing tables by appending, updating or deleting records. Action queries can also create new tables. Action queries start with words other than select. For example, an update query starts with the word Update.
See the Simple Queries topic for an introduction to simple select queries that display data from one table.
See the Queries Using Multiple Tables topic for instructions on creating queries that combine fields from multiple tables.
See the Action Queries topic for information on queries other than select queries.
Dot Nomenclature
"Dot" nomenclature allows us to refer to exactly a desired field within a given table even when other tables in our project might use the same field name in a different way. Dot nomenclature is simply the table name followed by a period "." and then the field name:
The above refers to the ContactName field in the Customers table. If we are writing simple queries that involve only one table we need not use dot nomenclature. We could simply write ContactName as in the examples above. However, if we are working with more than one table we can always use dot nomenclature to clear up any ambiguities about which field is intended.
Manifold will offer to autocomplete SQL functions and other parts of the query, popping up lists of key words and other useful items, to help guide us in writing the query. See the Autocompletion in Queries topic.
Names in Brackets
Some database management systems (including Manifold tables) allow field names and table names to contain the space character and other non-alphanumeric characters. Such field names should be enclosed in [ ] square brackets when written in queries. Simple field names that do not contain spaces or other unusual characters need not be enclosed in brackets.
To preserve maximum capability to export data to a wide variety of database systems we suggest the use of field names that do not contain spaces or other unusual characters.
Dot nomenclature and names in brackets can be combined. For example, one could write
Select * from [Mexico Table]
where [Mexico Table].BUSES_1991 > 3000;
Case Sensitivity
SQL itself is not case-sensitive, but string literals and string operations are. Hence, comparing a pair of string values which only differ by case for equality will return false. If you want to compare string values ignoring their case, use the UCase function.
Selection and SQL
Because many SQL queries begin with the word Select it is tempting to think of them as adding items to the selection. Although this is "selection" in the database sense of the word, the actual records and the objects with which they are associated may or may not be selected in the Manifold sense of the word depending on the setting of the Automatically select query records option in the Tools - Options - Miscellaneous dialog.
The default setting of this option is to automatically select records reported by a query. This makes it easy to use a query to select objects in a drawing. If automatic selection of query records is not desired, uncheck the option. If the option is not checked, records resulting from a query will simply be displayed in a table. We can then select them as desired. For example, we could choose Edit - Select All to select all the records in that table.
For reference information on SQL see the SQL Reference Guide information beginning with the SQL in Manifold System topic.
VBScript Style Operators and Functions
Manifold SQL supports use of numerous VBScript operators and functions. For example, LikeX is similar to the standard SQL Like operator but uses VBScript style syntax to match regular expressions.
The RegExp function returns values based on regular expressions. It transforms strings in a manner similar to the Manifold Edit - Replace dialog with the Regular Expressions checkbox turned on, so that:
RegExp("abc", "b", "d") returns "adc",
RegExp("abc", "[a-b]", "d") returns "ddc",
RegExp("abc", "[a-b]", "") returns "c",
RegExp("ab c", "([a-z]*) ([a-z]*)", "$1+$2") returns "ab+c",
RegExp("ab c", "([a-z]*) ([a-z]*)", "$2 $1") returns "c ab",
For more on VBScript style operators and functions see the Expressions topic in the SQL Reference Guide.
Manifold SQL and ANSI Syntax Option
Manifold's SQL is designed to be compatible with Microsoft SQL as implemented in the Microsoft "Jet" database engine. Manifold SQL is intended to be a superset of Jet SQL with features supporting ANSI SQL as well. SQL syntax as documented within the Microsoft Jet SQL Reference for Access 2000 is a practical approach to Manifold SQL.
Manifold SQL has also been extended with special functions to use the spatial and geocoding capabilities of Manifold. Note that the geocoding extensions to SQL will be available only if either the Manifold US street address geocoding database is installed or if Microsoft MapPoint has been installed. See the Spatial Extensions and Geocoding Extensions and Raster Extensions topics for a list of extensions to SQL in Manifold that allow creation of SQL queries that make spatial comparisons, work with rasters or employ the geocoding engine for work with street addresses.
In addition to being Microsoft Jet-like, Manifold's SQL engine may be switched into an alternate mode where it parses SQL queries using pure ANSI syntax. To do so, open the query and in the View - Properties dialog check the Use ANSI-compatible syntax box. It is also possible to automatically set the Use ANSI-compatible syntax option for all new queries by checking the Make new queries ANSI-compatible option in the Tools - Options dialog.
When the ANSI option is turned off, line comments start after an apostrophe (') or double dashes (--), the names of tables and columns can be enclosed in square brackets ([ ]) or backward apostrophes (`), strings are enclosed in quotes (") and times are enclosed in quotes (") or hashes (#).
When the ANSI option is turned on, line comments start after double dashes (--), the names of tables and columns can be enclosed in square brackets ([ ]) or quotes (") or backward apostrophes (`), strings are enclosed in apostrophes (') and times are enclosed in apostrophes (') or hashes (#).
Clearly, the safest course given that users might change the settings is to use double dashes (--) to mark line comments and to enclose the names of tables and columns in square brackets ([ ]) and to enclose times with hashes (#).. The main difference between having the ANSI option off or on is that with it off strings are enclosed in quotes (") and with the ANSI option on strings are enclosed in apostrophes (').
Lookup Values and CStr and CAST
Invoking CStr on a lookup value or using CAST to convert the value to a string returns the descriptive name of the lookup value.
We have a table T with a lookup column Region with values East and West. We want to select all records with the value of Region being East. We can do this with the following query:
SELECT * FROM [T] WHERE CStr([Region]) = "East";
We have a drawing D and we want to select all areas it contains. We can do this with the following query:
SELECT * FROM [D] WHERE CAST([Type (I)] AS TEXT) = "Area";
Use cache Option
In the View - Properties dialog for a query the Use cache option allows us to control the caching behavior of queries.
The Use cache option applies to table queries, such as those using SELECT and TRANSFORM. When this option is turned on, the query may cache the resulting table between invocations provided its text and parameters have not changed. This is obviously good for performance when lots of data is involved in the query.
When the Use cache option is turned off, the query forcefully re-computes itself (re-computing any dependent queries and refreshing any linked tables) each time it is run from the project pane or from the query window. By default, the option is turned off.
The default setting of the Use cache option may be specified in the Tools - Options - Miscellaneous dialog via the Make new queries cached option.
Queries and Linked Components
In addition to using queries as dynamically refreshed tables, one can also import or link queries as drawings, images or surfaces to create linked components. See the Linked Drawings topic as well as the Queries and Images or Surfaces topic for details.
Queries and Virtual Tables for Images and Surfaces
Queries may use data from images or surfaces by using virtual tables for these components. See the Virtual Tables for Images and Surfaces topic for details.
Tech Tip
images\btn_run_query.gif We may simultaneously open a query for editing with Open in one window and also run it in another window with the Run button. Any changes to the query's SQL statement made in the editing window will take effect in the opened viewing window when we next press Run. Note that for the Run button to work the query component must be highlighted in the project pane.
Suppose we create a query using data from Mexico Table, the table associated with our sample map of Mexican provinces. We can open the query in an editing window. We can also press the Run button to execute the query and open the results in a table window. The screen shot above shows the editing window, the table window and the project pane. (Windows have been resized to very small size to fit into the screen shot).
We can change the 3000 value to 4000 in the SQL statement and then press the Run button. The table window will be updated with the new results of the query.
If we change the 4000 to 5000 we can press the Run button again to update the table once more. Note that there is no need to "save" the SQL statement in the editing window. Changes to the query in the editing window take effect whenever the Run button is pressed.
As a convenience for users, if a query is open at the same time as an editable query window and also as a table window reporting the results of the query being run, the Windows dialog will append the postfix (Table) to the latter. For example, if we have a query called MyQuery and it is open both as an editable query window and also as a table window reporting the results of running the query, the Windows dialog will show two windows open, one called MyQuery and the other called MyQuery (Table).
Keyboard Shortcuts for Editing Queries
In addition to the usual Windows keyboard shortcuts query windows support key combinations for doing advanced syntax-aware editing tasks:
Display a list of auto-complete suggestions for the context word.
Comment selected text.
Uncomment selected text.
Convert selected text to lower case.
Convert selected text to upper case.
Multi-level Redo.
Multi-level Undo.
Check the character near the cursor and, if it is a bracket character, jump to the matching bracket.
Check the character near the cursor and, if it is a bracket character select the text between the bracket and the matching bracket.
Auto-complete the context word.
Recognized bracket combinations are ( and ), [ and ], { and }, ' and ', " and " and # and # (used to delimit dates in queries).
Query windows are unusual in that they support multi-level Undo / Redo. One can CTRL-Z (Undo) backwards through many changes and CTRL-Y (Redo) forwards to redo many Undo operations.
Formatting Columns
Queries also use the Formatting Columns capabilities of table windows, inheriting the format style used for the column in the table. Styles should be chosen to provide clarity of results.
Users are sometimes surprised to see numbers they expect to be values like 1.1 appear in a query or other table as 1.09999942779541, even if a floating point type is used. That is a result of the fundamental architecture of computers combined with the choice of format style used.
Floating-point values have finite precision. Some values, such as 1, 2, or 0.25 can be represented precisely, but most can not. For example, neither 12.6 nor 13.7 can be represented precisely. To see what really hides behind a value shown as 12.6, set the format style of the relevant column to 12.34 and increase the number of decimal digits to 10. Try the same for 13.7.
If we subtract one approximation from another, as in the case of an SQL query, we get an approximation of the result so that an expected result such as 1.1 may appear as 1.09999942779541.
The default format style uses a Microsoft Windows API which makes some approximations, such as 12.6000..., look round but leaves others unaffected. There is some logic behind that API, but that logic is obviously not applicable to all cases. To provide fine control over desired appearance is one reason why Manifold allows setting the format style and the number of decimal digits explicitly.
See the Query Templates and Sample Queries example topics for samples of queries.
The idea of relational databases originated in a 1969 IBM research report written by Dr. E.F. "Ted" Codd, who invented the relational model of databases and introduced it to the world. SQL originated as SEQUEL (for "Structured English Query Language") in 1974 at the IBM San Jose Research Laboratory in a project led by Donald Chamberlin.
Just about everyone in computing thinks that “SQL” is an acronym for “Structured Query Language.” That’s not true, despite the historical origin of the language, as the ANSI standard defining SQL officially names it “Database Language SQL.” Experts will also point out that SQL is not structured, it is used for more purposes than just asking about things (the conventional meaning of the English word “query”) and it is technically not a “language” in the Turing sense of the word.
According to ANSI, “SQL” should be pronounced by saying the letters as in “ess cue ell.” However, many people prefer to pronounce the term as the English word “sequel,” especially when referring to Microsoft’s SQL Server DBMS product since “sequel server” is more alliterative and easier to say than “ess cue ell server.” It is very common to use both pronunciations, even in the same sentence, as in “This ess-cue-ell works in Sequel Server but not in Oracle.”
When running SQL within Manifold queries, one is using the Manifold SQL engine. When executing SQL within the Database Console one is using whatever SQL is the native SQL of the external database system. One should be aware that SQL implementations in various databases systems can contain bugs. If an SQL bug occurs within the Database Console, the bug should be tracked down with the vendor of the external database system being used.
Queries made with query components as well as queries made with the Query toolbar execute within Manifold on the local machine and thus must fetch the content of involved tables from their respective data sources. This frees the user from the hassles of different dialects of SQL as supported by different drivers, allows querying data sources that do not support any SQL at all and allows using spatial, geocoding and other extensions implemented within Manifold.
To make a query execute on a database server using that server's own SQL, create a view on that server and link that view to the Manifold project as you would link a table.
Queries made within the Database Console run within the database server.
See Also
Autocompletion in Queries
SQL in Manifold System
SQL Reserved Words / Index
View - Refresh Data
Spatial Extensions
Geocoding Extensions
Using SQL to Select Map Objects
Sample Queries
Query Templates |
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I do understand how the proxy helps in transferring the XMLHttpRequest between the ArcServer and the Server (IIS/Apache) but where I am confused is that the first time the Html Doc loads, doesn't the Server need to request the ArcServer then as well. How does that request complete without the proxy?
I mean the first time the page loads it does not need that proxy and still the map is loaded in the Map container. But later if we send a XMLHttpRequest to the Geoprocessing Tool, the response from the ArcServer can only be received by the Server if we have setup the proxy, right?
So how does it happen the first time and not the second time?
share|improve this question
@Mapperz while that info still applies, that link is out of date, current version is here:… – Derek Swingley Sep 10 '12 at 22:18
up vote 6 down vote accepted
The JS API makes extensive use of JSONP, and this is how service metadata is retrieved. Once the JS API knows about a map service, it can insert tags to display map tiles or images from dynamic map services.
You're correct that there are certain cases where a proxy is required. You can read up about them in the "Using a Proxy" section of the Inside esri.request help topic.
Edit: Providing more info below about how esri.Map, map services and geoprocessing services work.
Accessing map services from the ArcGIS Server REST API does not require a proxy or CORS. This is because map service info can be retrieved via JSONP, which circumvents browsers' same origin policy. Once a map service is created and added to a map, the map tiles (or map images if the service is not cached) are inserted into the page by creating img tags. You can see this if you look at a page's DOM via Firefox or Chrome's developer tools. Since img tags (as well as script and link tags) are not subject to same origin, this works without a proxy or CORS.
For GP services, things are a little different. GP services usually take a number of inputs, and the request (the URL specifying input parameters) to a GP service is usually quite long. Because certain browsers impose a limit on URL length, to ensure cross browser compatibility, the JS API will switch to doing a POST rather than a GET when a URL is longer than ~2k characters. Cross domain POSTs are prohibited by same origin, and this is why a proxy (or CORS) is required. If you are using a GP service that accepts a small number of inputs, and only accepts a point (lines and polygons quickly increase URL length because every vertex is specified part of the request), it is possible possible to use GP service without a proxy or CORS. The key thing to remember is that if a URL is less than ~2k characters, and the request can be completed with a GET request, a proxy/CORS are not required. If the request must be done via a POST (an edit operation, for instance), and the service you're using is not on the same domain as your application, a proxy or CORS is required.
share|improve this answer
Thanks @Derek, but my question still remains unanswered. I do know how to setup a proxy or setup CORS but what I am not able to understand, is How come, without setting up the proxy or CORS, the map from sampleserver loads in the map container as the document loads but when I am trying to accesses the geoprocessing tool from the same sampleserver i need proxy? – Sam007 Sep 11 '12 at 16:50
@Sam007 added more info, please see my answer above. – Derek Swingley Sep 11 '12 at 21:24
Thanks a lot @Derek. I was finally able to understand. Really explained well in detail. The img tag was especially the bullseye. I have seen the map represented as tiles, but never occured to me that they are being transferred as img, which is common sense. Thanks that was a great explaination – Sam007 Sep 11 '12 at 21:40
@Sam007 you're welcome and my pleasure, glad I could help :) – Derek Swingley Sep 11 '12 at 22:16
Derek, THANK YOU! For posting so many helpful comments here, and even more so for posting working examples on JSFiddle. Postings from both you and Kelly have been absolutely vital in my learning of Javascript and the ESRI API. Just wanted to say thank you. – user16713 Apr 1 '13 at 13:32
Your Answer
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Perl version
• TUX
Perl 5 version 24.0 documentation
Recently read
• ref EXPR
• ref
Returns a non-empty string if EXPR is a reference, the empty string otherwise. If EXPR is not specified, $_ will be used. The value returned depends on the type of thing the reference is a reference to.
Builtin types include:
1. SCALAR
2. ARRAY
3. HASH
4. CODE
5. REF
6. GLOB
7. LVALUE
8. FORMAT
9. IO
10. VSTRING
11. Regexp
You can think of ref as a typeof operator.
1. if (ref($r) eq "HASH") {
2. print "r is a reference to a hash.\n";
3. }
4. unless (ref($r)) {
5. print "r is not a reference at all.\n";
6. }
The return value LVALUE indicates a reference to an lvalue that is not a variable. You get this from taking the reference of function calls like pos or substr. VSTRING is returned if the reference points to a version string.
The result Regexp indicates that the argument is a regular expression resulting from qr//.
If the referenced object has been blessed into a package, then that package name is returned instead. But don't use that, as it's now considered "bad practice". For one reason, an object could be using a class called Regexp or IO , or even HASH . Also, ref doesn't take into account subclasses, like isa does.
Instead, use blessed (in the Scalar::Util module) for boolean checks, isa for specific class checks and reftype (also from Scalar::Util) for type checks. (See perlobj for details and a blessed /isa example.)
See also perlref. |
Saturday, December 02, 2006
The Volcano
Aloha! In the past week I've travelled back to Kilauea Volcano on our Big Island, and have been staying on top. Conditions are a bit rough, and the weather is rainy. Sorry that communications are so bad, but even cel phones don't work up here.
Words can not describe this place, but I will try. The Big Island is built atop 3 main volcanic summits. Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on Earth when measured from its base. Mauna Loa and Kilauea have both been recently active. All three are shield volcanoes similiar to those on Venus and Mars.
The huge main caldera of Kilauea is stable enough to hike inside. The smaller Halemaumau Crater within is considered the home of Madame Pele, and is still hot. The most recent eruption come from the Pu'u O'o vent. Lava from this vent travels in subsurface tubes to reach the sea. Our Big Island is getting bigger each day!
The volcanoes which created Hawaii are intimately connected with physics and cosmology. The source of Eath's core heat is a tiny singularity, no bigger than a grain of sand but weighing as much as a moon. It is far too tiny to suck us up, and in fact eats no more mass than a typical human. That small amount, converted into radiation, has kept Earth's core hot for billions of years.
Old books told us that the heat comes from "radioactive decay." The evidence against that is all around me. Hawaiian soil is red, indicating a high iron content. The islands slowly travel across a "hot spot" originating near the core-mantle boundary 3600 km below. The iron-rich Hawaiian lava originates near the core, for the mantle contains almost no iron.
Earth's core has a temperature in thousands of degrees, hot enough to melt rock. If you go into the field and find the most radioactive samples you can find, they are not about to melt. Those samples come from the crust, which is richer in radioactive elements than either mantle or core. The concentration or radioactive elements is too sparse to melt rock.
The only way to melt those rocks is in a chain reaction. That occurs very rarely, as in the Oklo uranium mine or when humans build a reactor. The most common radioactive elements, like Potassium 40, would have decayed by now. The old hypothesis of radioactive decay simply does not hold water. A small singularity would keep the core hot indefinitely.
Presence of a singularity also explains Earth's magnetic field, and why that field is independent of the geographic poles. The singularity also explains how Earth and other bodies coalesced from a promordial cloud of gas. Particles of the infant solar system were far too tiny to assemble themselves into protoplanets. Earth formed around a tiny singularity as a pearl forms around a grain of sand.
Pearls, volcanoes, telescopes, coral reefs and cosmology are all connected. The Big Island is a fascinating place.
Blogger Kea said...
I really hope to get to the Big Island one day. We have active volcanoes on the North Island. My mum grew up not far from Mt Ruapahu. One can usually walk or ski around the crater lake, but occasionally it spews.
12:32 PM
Blogger Kea said...
Sorry, that's Ruapehu.
12:33 PM
Blogger Kim said...
Hello Babe in the Universe!
I just now saw your comment in my blog...months embarressing!
Yes, Tasmania is an awesome place and I hope to get an opportunity to go back someday.
Your blog is way cool and have some awesome pictures.
12:35 PM
Blogger L. Riofrio said...
HI Kea: I hope to see NZ sometime soon. The Pacific holds some truly beauiful places.
Nice to hear from you, Kim. I posted some pictures from SCAR back in July. Congratulations on your thesis defense. Lately I have faced some tough questions too.
6:34 PM
Blogger CarlBrannen said...
Interesting. I hadn't realized that the source of the heat down there was not well known.
Hmmm. Do the other planets have these too?
12:09 PM
Blogger CarlBrannen said...
Ah, here's a link. If Riofrio is right, we could have a "neutrino deficit" for the earth:
12:37 PM
Blogger Kea said...
Hi Carl
Hmmm. Given the flexibility of the uranium/potassium scenario, I would guess that Louise needs a quantitative angular profile, which would be far more skewed to the poles, rather than a simple deficit prediction. Louise?
4:46 PM
Blogger CarlBrannen said...
The other thing that came to mind is that with a very localized source, one would expect some sort of localized melting. Is that compatible with the known fact that the core is solid?
I've seen speculation that the core is a single iron crystal.
5:40 PM
Blogger Kea said...
Given that neutrino detection generally requires large surface areas (eg. balloons in Antarctica) I guess the volcano experiment is rather about thermal gradients. Is the core solid? I don't know. But presumably this is a large difference between the standard vs Black Hole scenarios. Can we detect the crystal surface and its depth, perhaps? The combination of such evidence with neutrino profiles from Antarctica could make a good case.
5:51 PM
Blogger Kea said...
Isn't the iron core idea an attempt to explain the magnetic field? In which case, we don't need it. Even with localised heating, convection would keep the whole core molten, no?
6:04 PM
Blogger CarlBrannen said...
Latest info is the core is not a single crystal. And has patterns of convection that are suspiciously like what one might expect with a singularity.
7:15 PM
Blogger Kea said...
Gee, thanks for the link! So there is an inner core / outer core surface, but the inner core isn't quite solid. Wow, the alignment with the rotation axis makes the distinct magnetic axis problem sound serious (for the standard scenario).
7:46 PM
Blogger L. Riofrio said...
Hi all. From seismographs, we know that the outer core is liquid, and the inner core is solid. (Makes one wonder why) There is evidence of a further discontinuity at a radius of only 300 km from the centre.
9:56 PM
Blogger Kea said...
Ahh! Thanks. That would be tricky to explain with a simple iron core.
10:09 PM
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Possible Duplicate:
When do you use Java's @Override annotation and why?
My question is very basic why we people use @Override annotation and what is the importance of this annotation?
In Old JDK why it not show as warning, but in latest JDK it required then Why..?
share|improve this question
marked as duplicate by pst, Jigar Joshi, Matthew Farwell, tanascius, Toon Krijthe Nov 10 '11 at 8:57
Here is discussion on the same topic [When do you use Java's @Override annotation and why?][1] ,seems helpful. [1]:… – COD3BOY Nov 10 '11 at 7:14
(… link might help you] – Emmanuel Angelo.R Mar 5 '14 at 5:41
up vote 29 down vote accepted
Suppose you have:
public class Foo
public void bar(String x, String y) {}
public class Foo2 extends Foo
public void bar(String x, Object y) {}
You really meant to override, but due to a mistake in the signature, it doesn't. If you use @Override you can get the compiler to detect the fault. It also indicates to any reading the code that this is overriding an existing method or implementing an interface - advising them about current behaviour and the possible impact of renaming the method.
Additionally, your compiler may give you a warning if a method overrides a method without specifying @Override, which means you can detect if someone has added a method with the same signature to a superclass without you being aware of it - you may not want to be overriding the new method, as your existing method may have different semantics. While @Override doesn't provide a way of "un-overriding" the method, it at least highlights the potential problem.
share|improve this answer
Just to make sure at compile time that we are really overriding the method, also adds good amount to the readability of code
@Override is there since JDK 1.5, so you might get warning in prior
share|improve this answer
Using this annotation you may be sure that you are really overriding base method, not creating new one (e.g., by accidentally using wrong arguments). If you use @Override annotation, you will get compile time error if something is not right.
share|improve this answer
I donot get any compile time error, please let me know , what did I miss here – paul Apr 21 '14 at 6:17
To verify during compile time that you are actually overriding a method. IDE's can tell you immediately when you provide that annotation.
share|improve this answer
|
Antarctic ice sheet collapse 'unstoppable' (12)
IOL 2014.05.13 11:37
By Kerry Sheridan AFP This undated photo courtesy of Nasa shows Thwaites Glacier in Western Antarctica. Washington - Ice is melting in the western Antarctic at an unstoppable pace, scientists said on Monday, warning that the discovery holds major consequences for global sea level rise in the coming decades. The speedy melting means that prior calculations of sea level rise worldwide made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will have
ANTARCTICA, SHEET, SEA, GLACIER, ICE, NASA, Joughin, Антарктида, Washington, GL |
Navigation Links
Battling bird flu by the numbers
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, May 27, 2008A pair of Los Alamos National Laboratory theorists have developed a mathematical tool that could help health experts and crisis managers determine in real time whether an emerging infectious disease such as avian influenza H5N1 is poised to spread globally.
In a paper published recently in the Public Library of Science, researchers Lus Bettencourt and Ruy Ribeiro of Los Alamos Theoretical Division describe a novel approach to reading subtle changes in epidemiological data to gain insight into whether something like the H5N1 strain of avian influenzacommonly known these days as the Bird Fluhas gained the ability to touch off a deadly global pandemic.
What we wanted to create was a mathematically rigorous way to account for changes in transmissibility, said Bettencourt. We now have a tool that will tell us in the very short term what is happening based on anomaly detection. What this method wont tell you is whats going to happen five years from now.
Bettencourt and Ribeiro began their work nearly three years ago, at a time when the world was wondering whether avian influenza H5N1, with its relatively high human mortality rate, could become a frightening new pandemic. Health experts believe that right now the virus primarily infects humans who come in contact with infected poultry.
But some health experts fear the virus could evolve to a form that would become transmissible from human to human, the basis of a pandemic like the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed an estimated 50 million people.
The Los Alamos researchers set out to create a smart methodology to look at changes in disease transmissibility that did not require mounds of epidemiological surveillance data for accuracy. The ability to look at small disease populations in real time could allow responders and health experts to implement quarantine policies and provide medical resources to key areas early on in an emerging pandemic and possibly stem the spread.
Bettencourt and Ribeiro developed an extension of standard epidemiological models that describes the probability of disease spread among a given population. The model then takes into account actual disease surveillance data gathered by health experts like the World Health Organization and looks for anomalies in the expected transmission rate versus the actual one. Based on this, the model provides health experts actual transmission probabilities for the disease. Unlike other statistical models that require huge amounts of data for accuracy, the Los Alamos tool works on very small populations such as a handful of infected people in a remote village.
After developing their Bayesian estimation of epidemic potential, Bettencourt went back and looked at actual epidemiological surveillance data collected during Bird Flu outbreaks in certain parts of the world. Their model accurately portrayed actual transmission scenarios, lending confidence to its methodology.
In addition to its utility in understanding the transmissibility of emerging diseases, the new method is also advantageous because it allows public health experts to study outbreaks of more common ailments such as seasonal influenza early on. This can assist medical professionals in making better estimates of potential morbidity and mortality, along with assessments of intervention strategies and resource allocations that can help a population better cope with a developing seasonal outbreak.
We are closing the loop on science-based prediction of transmission consequences in real time, said Ribeiro. A program of this type is something that needs to be implemented at a worldwide level to provide an integrated way to respond a priori to an emerging disease threat.
Contact: James Rickman
DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Definitions for embankmentɛmˈbæŋk mənt
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word embankment
Princeton's WordNet
1. embankment(noun)
1. embankment(Noun)
Webster Dictionary
1. Embankment(noun)
the act of surrounding or defending with a bank
2. Embankment(noun)
a structure of earth, gravel, etc., raised to prevent water from overflowing a level tract of country, to retain water in a reservoir, or to carry a roadway, etc
1. Embankment
A road, railway line or canal is normally raised onto an embankment made of earth to avoid a change in level required by the terrain, the alternatives being either to have an unacceptable change in level or detour to follow a contour. A cutting is used for the same purpose where the land is originally higher than required. Embankments are often constructed using material obtained from a cutting. Embankments should be constructed using suitable materials to provide adequate support to the formation and long-term stability.
Editors Contribution
1. Embankment
A long artificial structure of material designed and built to retain water, or to support a road.
Embankments are used in various countries, they are used along river banks, roads, around dams and reservoirs.
1. Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of embankment in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
2. Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of embankment in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Sample Sentences & Example Usage
1. Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh:
On the floating islands, we conducted embankment (consolidation) to prevent them from waves and erosion, to ensure safety for the people and the soldiers stationed on the islands, on the submerged islands, we only built small houses, which can accommodate a few people and we are not expanding. The scope and characteristic of our work is purely civilian.
Images & Illustrations of embankment
Translations for embankment
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News > R&D
Read more breaking news
Curry spice to ease fatal genetic disease
A compound in the curry spice turmeric appears to correct the cystic fibrosis defect in mice, report Canadian scientists, demonstrating the potential for treating the disease in humans.
The study is the latest to highlight the medicinal value of curcumin, which gives turmeric or Curcuma longa, its yellow colour and bright taste.
Previous trials suggest that the spice could prevent the onset of alcoholic liver disease, may slow down the blood cancer multiple myeloma and multiple sclerosis, and could be an inexpensive, well-tolerated, treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.
While the current trial, and most of the earlier studies, only tested cells in a lab, researchers believe that there is enough evidence to progress to a human clinical trial.
Cystic fibrosis is a fatal genetic disease affecting around 30,000 people in the US and another 30,000 around the world. One person in 25 carries the defective gene that causes the disease in which thick mucous clogs the lungs and the pancreas due to problems with the secretion of ions and fluid by cells of the airways and gastrointestinal tract. Normal secretion depends upon the function of a protein called CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator), which was discovered at the Toronto-based Hospital for Sick Children in 1989.
Mutations in the gene encoding CFTR are responsible for cystic fibrosis. In the most common form of cystic fibrosis, the CFTR protein is trapped inside the cell, and is therefore unable to carry out its proper function at the cell surface.
Marie Egan and Michael Caplan from Yale University School of Medicine, and Gergely Lukacs from Sick Kids report in today's issue of Science (pp600-602) that curcumin treatment in a mouse model can release the mutant CFTR protein from this inappropriate compartment inside the cell and allow it to reach its proper destination, where it is able to function.
"We were able to prove at the cellular level what the Yale group observed in the mouse model of the disease," said Dr Lukacs. "After having received curcumin treatment, mice with the genetic defect that causes CF survived at a rate almost equal to normal mice. The CFTR protein also functioned normally in the cells lining the nose and rectum, which are areas of the body affected by cystic fibrosis."
Dr Caplan added: "In the next phase of this research, we will work to determine precisely how curcumin is achieving these effects and to optimize its potential as a possible drug."
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, the nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation charity, is currently working with Seer Pharmaceuticals on a Phase I clinical trial of curcumin to assess safety and dosage parameters in humans.
The small trial will be conducted in four to six sites and will include approximately 25 patients. |
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for people who care about the West
A new land grab
The Oglala Sioux are on a path to reclaim their territory and their culture
You can hear the blood rushing out of the buffalo's throat, even over an idling pickup truck and the stiff May wind that blows across the grassy hills of western South Dakota. Lying on its side, the 800-pound bull labors through its final breaths, kicking its legs and trying to stand up.
A dozen men, women and children, representing three generations, have gathered here on the Pine Ridge Reservation to watch Ed Iron Cloud's nephew, Bob Iron Cloud, kill the animal. This coming-of-age ritual -- a sacred ceremony for the Iron Cloud family -- is also a preparation for the upcoming Sun Dance, when the bison's heart will be buried under the pole at the center of the summer renewal ceremony. The buffalo itself came from a small herd managed by the Iron Cloud family in the rolling pastures above their homes near the community of Porcupine.
As the bull ceases to move, a few of the women break out into a cry more chilling than the relentless wind. Medicine man Rick Two Dogs begins praying and singing in Lakota. The family gathers in a circle and passes around the ceremonial pipe, its stem smeared with blood symbolizing new life and the power of the buffalo. Everyone dips a finger into a plastic coffee mug to taste the blood and share the buffalo's strength.
"This buffalo understands more than we do about pain," Two Dogs says. "That buffalo really fought hard and really wanted to live, and that's what we really want."
The Lakota, also known as the Sioux, are authorities on hard living. The counties that make up Pine Ridge, home to roughly 29,000 people, are among the poorest in the United States, with high rates of alcoholism and drug abuse, domestic violence and suicide.
The reservation is huge -- larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined -- but two-thirds of its land base is tied up in a government grazing program that leases land to mostly non-Native ranchers. Many Lakota receive annual interest checks from the grazing leases, but few realize they have legitimate claims to property where they could build homes, develop businesses or connect with the lost traditions of the past. A 2004 Bureau of Indian Affairs report reveals that more than 19,000 members of the Oglala Sioux tribe have claims to more than 203,000 properties. A lot of the claims are fractionated, or divided, among siblings and cousins, however, and before the land can be recovered or consolidated, the majority of the family has to agree.
Rather than wrestle over consolidating their parcels, Iron Cloud's family decided to lease 2,000 acres of tribal land adjacent to their homes. The land is used for the family's buffalo operation, and Iron Cloud, a South Dakota state representative, hopes it will also serve as a camp to teach college students about sustainability and tribal practices.
The Iron Clouds' buffalo help them to fulfill Lakota sacred traditions. They also slaughter a few animals each year for meat, some of which is sold through a new, Native-run business, the Lakota Buffalo Caretakers Cooperative, which sells grass-fed buffalo, killed and processed using Indian ethical principles.
"It's not just economical," Iron Cloud says. "We need the money, but it's also the cultural and the environmental."
Henry Red Cloud is another charter member of the cooperative. With his two long braids, a thin mustache and high cheekbones, Red Cloud is a fifth-generation direct descendant of the venerable Chief Red Cloud, often described as the only Indian who ever won a major war against the United States.
Chief Red Cloud negotiated the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which created the 60-million-acre Great Sioux Reservation. Originally, the reservation spanned western South Dakota and was surrounded by protected buffalo hunting grounds. But the boundaries didn't stick: Gold miners soon trespassed into the Black Hills. After the Lakota and their allies wiped out the 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn in 1876, the government forced Red Cloud and other chiefs to sign a new pact that fragmented the tribe's lands. Later on, Congress divided the Lakota, putting them on five smaller reservations, including Pine Ridge.
It was Chief Red Cloud who said of the U.S. government, "They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land and they took it."
Then, in 1906, Congress passed the Burke Act, which allowed the BIA to measure Native Americans' "competence" to handle their homestead lands, based on ancestry, cultural assimilation -- even the length of a person's hair. The assessments at Pine Ridge underscored official prejudice: By 1915, government agents had classified 56 percent of the Oglala Lakota living on the reservation as "incompetent," and 700,000 additional acres were sold off before the practice ceased in 1934. Other parcels allotted to "incompetent" Indians were shifted into the leasing system, which has served mostly non-Native ranchers. But "competent" Indians didn't make out much better, since they were forced to pay taxes on their allotments. Ninety-five percent of these lands were eventually sold to non-Natives for a fraction of their real value.
And the allotment system had lasting cultural impact: By chopping up the land base, it effectively ended communal hunting practices. As the original allottees died and their children inherited the land, parcels were fractionated among dozens -- sometimes hundreds -- of heirs.
A decade ago, Henry Red Cloud's father told his 11 sons and daughters that he wanted to reclaim the family's lands from the leasing system and restore the buffalo. Because he was a lone heir, a rare circumstance, he had sole rights to 320 acres of land in the government leasing system.
Henry and his father applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to withdraw the lands from the leasing program, and eventually received approval. The family decided to manage the land as a tiyospaye, a traditional communal band or extended kin network.
Within three years of removing cattle, the grasslands rebounded from overgrazing, Red Cloud says. His father died in 2003, but Henry remained faithful to his vision and introduced buffalo one year later. It seemed to be going well: Whereas lease interest from the land would bring in about $1,200 a year, Red Cloud says, "You sell two buffalo and you cover that."
But the family began arguing over land-management decisions in the wake of Red Cloud's mother's death. Ultimately, the siblings sold off all the buffalo they were raising.
Still, Henry Red Cloud hasn't given up. He plans to lease more land and begin a new herd, hoping that his kin will once again commit to their father's vision.
"In my opinion, every land exchange counts because it decreases fractionation," says Denise Mesteth, the Oglala Sioux Tribe's land director. With each completed consolidation or exchange, she adds, "I think we have a better chance to be self-sufficient."
But the system is so tangled with administrative, political and personal threads that even the officials in charge of it describe it as a bureaucratic rat's nest, nearly impossible to navigate.
"We're spending so much on these records that it's distracting us from managing the resources," says Harold Compton, the BIA deputy superintendent of trust services at Pine Ridge. "That's why the Bureau has a black eye."
Compton, an enrolled member of the neighboring Rosebud Sioux tribe, notes that land recovery isn't practical for everyone.
"I'm all for this, but sometimes with the reality of what's happened (with fractionation), the best advice I can give is, 'Sell it,' " Compton says. The reformed land-consolidation policies and probate rules are designed to enable the sale of highly fractionated parcels to the tribes, not to facilitate family efforts to sort through the divisions. "But, on the other hand, we're not in a conspiracy to keep (allotted lands) in the hands of ranchers."
Maybe not, but an analysis of BIA data by the Colorado-based nonprofit organization Village Earth reveals that just 20 people control 46 percent of the Pine Ridge land base through the federal grazing program. And tribal grazing leases pay less than those on the open market.
That disparity led David Bartecchi, Village Earth's executive director, to create a map book that now helps tribe members with the labyrinthine and time-consuming administrative process for land exchanges and recovery. Village Earth has also been instrumental in launching the Lakota Buffalo Caretakers Cooperative.
"It's all about rebuilding those things we've had," says Henry Red Cloud. "The sun, the wind, the buffalo -- we've got songs written about that."
After the buffalo kill, the medicine man Rick Two Dogs talks about the 1890 Ghost Dance movement on the reservations. He explains that his prayer "talked about how during the Ghost Dance, our grandparents cried because they had lost this way of life, following the buffalo and having them for sustenance." Two Dogs looks out the cracked windshield of a pickup as his family carefully butchers the bull. "We should be so thankful."
Listen to an audio interview with writer Josh Zaffos, Where the buffalo roam.
Click for information on Village Earth or The Bureau of Indian Affairs. |
Flag of Russia
1. Russia Main Page
2. The Bolshevik Revolution
3. Emergence of the USSR
4. The Berlin Blockade and the Cold War
5. Dissolution of the USSR
8. Crumbling Relations with the United States and Conflict with Georgia
10. Protests and Unrest Surrounds the 2012 Presidential Election
13. International Protests and Multiple Bombings Threaten 2014 Olympics
14. Russia Annexes Crimea, Experiences Economic Fallout Due to Sanctions
16. Nemtsov Is Assassinated, Two Aircraft Crash in 2015
Nemtsov Is Assassinated, Two Aircraft Crash in 2015
On Feb. 27, 2015, just two days before he was scheduled to lead an opposition peace rally, Boris Nemtsov was shot and killed in Moscow. Nemtsov had been a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and most recently, of the war in Ukraine. According to fellow opposition leader Ilya Yashin, at the time of his death, Nemtsov had been working on a report of the Russian military's involvement in Ukraine. Putin condemned Nemtsov's murder and promised to lead the investigation into his death.
Nemtsov was the most prominent opposition leader to be killed during Putin's presidency. The incident sparked outrage and protests, including tens of thousands marching through Moscow in the days after the assassination.
Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov
Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov
Source: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko
On Oct. 31, 2015, Airbus A321-200, an 18-year-old Russian passenger plane, crashed just 20 minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. All 224 people on board were killed. Investigators exploring the debris said that the plane's fuselage disintegrated in the air while flying over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The cause of the disintegration was not immediately known. However, The Sinai Province of the Islamic State, an ISIS offshoot, claimed responsibility for bombing the plane. The following month, Russia's FSB security service announced that Airbus A321-200 was taken down by a homemade explosive device.
Russian plane crash in Egypt
The remains of the Russian passenger jet, Oct. 31, 2015
Source: Suliman el-Oteify/Egyptian Prime Minister's Office via AP, File
Turkey shot down a Russian warplane for invading its airspace in late Nov. 2015. At least one of the two pilots was killed. Turkish officials said that the plane ignored repeated warnings as it crossed over into its airspace from Syria. In a statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the act a "stab in the back." He also said that there would be "significant consequences." It was the first time in fifty years that a NATO member had shot down a Russian aircraft.
See also Encyclopedia: Russia .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Russia
State Committee of the Russian Federation on Statistics: .
See also Russian History Timeline .
See Chechnya Timeline .
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Cover of Neuroscience
Neuroscience. 2nd edition.
Show details
Neuroglial Cells
Neuroglial cells—usually referred to simply as glial cells or glia—are quite different from nerve cells. The major distinction is that glia do not participate directly in synaptic interactions and electrical signaling, although their supportive functions help define synaptic contacts and maintain the signaling abilities of neurons. Glia are more numerous than nerve cells in the brain, outnumbering them by a ratio of perhaps 3 to 1. Although glial cells also have complex processes extending from their cell bodies, they are generally smaller than neurons, and they lack axons and dendrites (Figure 1.4). The term glia (from the Greek word meaning “glue”) reflects the nineteenth-century presumption that these cells held the nervous system together in some way. The word has survived, despite the lack of any evidence that binding nerve cells together is among the many functions of glial cells. Glial roles that are well-established include maintaining the ionic milieu of nerve cells, modulating the rate of nerve signal propagation, modulating synaptic action by controlling the uptake of neurotransmitters, providing a scaffold for some aspects of neural development, and aiding in (or preventing, in some instances) recovery from neural injury.
Figure 1.4. Neuroglial cells.
Figure 1.4
Neuroglial cells. Tracings of an astrocyte (A), an oligodendrocyte (B), and a microglial cell (C) visualized by impregnation with silver salts. The images are at approximately the same scale. (D) Astrocytes in the brain labeled with an antibody against (more...)
There are three types of glial cells in the mature central nervous system: astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglial cells (Figure 1.4AC).Astrocytes, which are restricted to the brain and spinal cord, have elaborate local processes that give these cells a starlike appearance (hence the prefix “astro”). The major function of astrocytes is to maintain, in a variety of ways, an appropriate chemical environment for neuronal signaling. Oligodendrocytes, which are also restricted to the central nervous system, lay down a laminated, lipid-rich wrapping called myelin around some, but not all, axons. Myelin has important effects on the speed of action potential conduction (see Chapter 3). In the peripheral nervous system, the cells that elaborate myelin are called Schwann cells. As the name implies, microglial cells are smaller cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells (although some may be derived directly from neural stem cells). They share many properties with tissue macrophages, and are primarily scavenger cells that remove cellular debris from sites of injury or normal cell turnover. Indeed, some neurobiologists prefer to categorize microglia as a type of macrophage. Following brain damage, the number of microglia at the site of injury increases dramatically. Some of these cells proliferate from microglia resident in the brain, while others come from macrophages that migrate to the injured area from the circulation.
Copyright © 2001, Sinauer Associates, Inc.
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Giosue Carducci
Giosue Carducci
(1835 - 1907)
Italian poet, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1906, and one of the most influential literary figures of his age.
In his youth Carducci was the centre of a group of young men determined to overthrow the prevailing Romanticism and to return to classical models. Giuseppe Parini, Vincenzo Monti, and Ugo Foscolo were his masters, and their influence is evident in his first books of poems (Rime, 1857; later collected in Juvenilia [1880] and Levia gravia [1868; "Light and Serious Poems"]). He showed both his great power as a poet and the strength of his republican, anticlerical feeling in his hymn to Satan, "Inno a Satana" (1863), and in his Giambi ed epodi (1867-69; "Iambics and Epodes"), inspired chiefly by contemporary politics. Its violent, bitter language reflects the virile, rebellious character of the poet.
Rime nuove (1887; The New Lyrics) and Odi barbare (1877; The Barbarian Odes) contain the best of Carducci's poetry: the evocations of the Maremma landscape and the memories of childhood; the lament for the loss of his only son; the representation of great historical events; and the ambitious attempts to recall the glory of Roman history and the pagan happiness of classical civilization. Carducci's enthusiasm for the classical in art led him to adapt Latin prosody to Italian verse, and his Odi barbare are written in metres imitative of Horace and Virgil. His research in Italian literature was warmed by his poetic imagination and style, and his best prose works equal his poetry.
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Palma de Majorca, Balearic Islands » City Info » Geography
Palma is the major city and seaport geographically located in the southwest of Majorca. The city lies on the large coastal Bay of Palma in the western Mediterranean Sea. The land area of the city is about 21,355 km² with an altitude of 13 metres.
Palma is bordered by rocky inlets and marinas on the south side, whilst many of the tourist resorts are positioned towards the east side of the city. The central zone that extends from Palma is generally a flat fertile plain known as Es Pla. There are two uninhabited islands, Cabera , which is located southeast of Palma and Dragonera which is west of Palma.
Geographical Coordinates: 39° 34′ 9.12″ N, 2° 38′ 59.28″ E
The climate in Palma is typically Mediterranean. It has warm average temperatures and seasonal rains. In the summer it is hot and dry. The average annual temperature is between 16°C and 18°C. In the summer, the maximum average is between 29°C and 31°C. Sometimes it can get up to 41°C in during the summer months. The minimum average winter temperature (at night is between 5 and 9°C and sometimes it fall to -6°C during the winter months. Mallorca’s annual rainfall varies. The rainfall on the island is very irregular. In the south it is around 350mm and in the high areas, the average is 1,500mm. The rainiest months are between September and November.
Almost half of Majorca’s population live in Palma and it is ranked as Spain’s 12th largest metropolitan area. With a population of 413,781 (2008 census), Palma city has one of the most multi-cultured societies in Spain. The Majorcan’s come from a very diverse backgrounds, descending from a mix of Arabic, Spanish and Carthaginians. The rest of the population come from all over Spain and Europe, as well as a significant amount of people from Africa and South America. Many people choose to live in Palma city for the wide range of work opportunities. |
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Henry IV Part 1 Theme of Art and Culture
Henry IV Part 1 makes several self-conscious references to the workings of Elizabethan theater. Most notably, the wild impromptu skit at the Boar's Head tavern presents a "play-within-a-play" that offers an opportunity for Shakespeare to explore the relationship between rebellion and the stage. Because it's a space where Prince Hal can practice being "king," the tavern is also a kind of training ground or important rehearsal space for the young man who will inherit the throne. Frequent play-acting and character impersonation throughout Henry IV Part 1 give voice to the notion that "kingship" is just another "role" to be played. The play's concern with meta-theatricality aligns it with other important works, including Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Questions About Art and Culture
1. What kinds of play-acting do we see characters participate in throughout the play?
2. Why do Hal and Falstaff put on an impromptu skit at the Boar's Head Tavern?
3. What does Falstaff focus on when he plays the role of "Prince Hal" during the tavern skit? Is he interested in accurately portraying the "prince"? Or, does he have a different agenda?
4. How does Shakespeare draw our attention to the fact that we are an audience as we watch (or read) the play? What's the larger purpose of this technique?
Chew on This
By portraying a play-within-a-play at the Boar's Head Tavern, Shakespeare highlights the relationship between the theater and rebellion.
Henry IV Part 1 explores the relationship between theatricality and leadership – ultimately, the play suggests that kingship is merely a "role" that can be "played" by anyone with acting skills and the right "costume."
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A brief overview of argumentation and persuasion as well as coverage of some logical fallacies.
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1. 1. Argumentation: A Primer “Happiness is when everyone agrees that I’m right!”
2. 2. What is Argumentation? <ul><ul><li>Argumentation -- clear thinking, logic to convince reader of the soundness of a particular opinion on a controversial issue. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Persuasion -- emotions used to convince reader to take a particular action. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Persuasion and argumentation are often combined. </li></ul></ul>
3. 3. Arguments must have the following: <ul><li>Logos </li></ul><ul><li>Ethos </li></ul><ul><li>Pathos </li></ul>
4. 4. Logos <ul><li>"Logos" or soundness of argument -- facts, statistics, examples, and authoritative statements to support viewpoint. </li></ul><ul><li>Evidence must be: unified, specific, sufficient, accurate, and representative. This is the main strength of the argument. </li></ul>
5. 5. Pathos <ul><li>"Pathos" -- appeals to readers' needs, values, and attitudes, encouraging them to commit themselves to a viewpoint or course of action. </li></ul><ul><li>Pathos is derived from language (connotative -- strong emotional overtones). </li></ul>
6. 6. Ethos <ul><li>"Ethos" -- credibility and integrity. Prove to the reader that you're knowledgeable and trustworthy. </li></ul><ul><li>Give a balanced approach, acknowledge differing points of view; give lots of support for your viewpoint. </li></ul>
7. 7. There are two basic types of reasoning: <ul><li>Inductive reasoning -- draw a conclusion from using specific details. </li></ul><ul><li>(Small to big) </li></ul><ul><li>Deductive reasoning -- apply a generalization to a specific case. </li></ul><ul><li>(Big to small) </li></ul>
8. 8. There are lots of things to consider. <ul><li>First: There are perfectly wonderful, reasonable, intelligent people who disagree with you absolutely. (And there are dunderheads who may agree with you.) The moral: judge the argument, not the person. </li></ul>
9. 9. Know what you know. <ul><li>You need to be certain of what you know as well as of what you are uncertain -- that knowledge affects your use of proofs as well as your use of language. </li></ul>
10. 10. Don’t offend. <ul><li>Goodwill -- readers are more likely to listen to an argument if it is reasoned, cool, calm, and relatively dispassionate. </li></ul><ul><li>Focus on the issues, not the reader or opponent. </li></ul>
11. 11. Know the history. <ul><li>Be able to identify the controversy of your issue and why there is a controversy in the first place. </li></ul>
12. 12. Know all sides. <ul><li>You should be able to see the validity of both (all) sides of an issue. </li></ul><ul><li>Also, you should be able to determine what the two sides may agree on. </li></ul>
13. 13. What can you do with both sides? <ul><li>Refutations -- restate opposing points of view, acknowledge the validity of some of the arguments given by opponents, point out common grounds, present evidence for your position. </li></ul><ul><li>You must be able to refute the opposition in order to have a strong argument (and get an “A” on your essay). </li></ul>
14. 14. Things to avoid: <ul><li>faulty conclusions, post hoc fallacy (cause-effect sequential but not related); non sequitur fallacy (conclusion has no connection to evidence); ad hominem argument (attach person rather than point of view); </li></ul>
15. 15. More things to avoid: <ul><li>faulty authority (when authority is in doubt); begging the question (reader expected to accept a controversial premise without proof); false analogy (two things share all characteristics if they share only a few); either-or fallacy (viewpoint can only have one of two solutions); red herring argument (deflect attention). </li></ul>
16. 16. Structure <ul><li>There is no one “better” way to structure an argument. Whatever works, whatever is actually convincing, is the “right” way to do it. </li></ul><ul><li>Do consider the “Rogerian” method, however, because it does contain all elements of a strong argument. </li></ul>
17. 17. More stuff to think about: <ul><li>Always be thorough. Find out what you don’t know -- do your research -- and don’t spout nonsense. </li></ul><ul><li>Avoid loaded words and prejudicial statements -- generalizations that are vague and often misleading and inaccurate. </li></ul>
18. 18. Language issues: <ul><li>Vary sentences structure. </li></ul><ul><li>Be aware of homonyms. </li></ul><ul><li>Be aware of transitions. </li></ul><ul><li>Be aware of connotations and denotations. </li></ul><ul><li>Have a clearly identifiable thesis. </li></ul>
19. 19. Things to remember. <ul><li>Avoid announcements. Please never say something like, “In this paper I will discuss…” That is fine for papers written in science or math classes, but it is not acceptable in an English class. </li></ul>
20. 20. Possible Beginnings <ul><li>Broad statement narrowing to a limited subject (end introduction with thesis statement) </li></ul><ul><li>Brief anecdote leading up to thesis </li></ul><ul><li>Comparative or opposite ideas leading up to thesis </li></ul><ul><li>Series of short questions leading to thesis </li></ul><ul><li>Quotes leading to thesis </li></ul><ul><li>Refutation of a common belief leading up to a thesis </li></ul><ul><li>Dramatic fact or statistic leading to thesis </li></ul>
21. 21. Possible Conclusions <ul><li>Summary of information presented (useful if your argument is long and/or complicated) </li></ul><ul><li>Prediction based on information presented </li></ul><ul><li>Quotation leading to concluding statement </li></ul><ul><li>Statistics leading to concluding statement </li></ul><ul><li>Recommendation or call for action </li></ul>
22. 22. Double Check These: <ul><li>Does the paper answer the assignment given? </li></ul><ul><li>Does the paper address your audience? </li></ul><ul><li>Does the paper have the appropriate tone? </li></ul><ul><li>Does the paper serve the purpose intended? </li></ul><ul><li>Is the thesis clear and easily understood? </li></ul><ul><li>Add information where it appears to lack adequate support. </li></ul>
23. 23. More to remember: <ul><li>Delete useless or confusing information. </li></ul><ul><li>Do all of the supporting statements actually support the thesis? </li></ul><ul><li>Are clear transitions used between thoughts, ideas, paragraphs? </li></ul><ul><li>Are the introduction and conclusion adequate and appropriate? </li></ul><ul><li>Is your organization systematic and methodical (consistent throughout the paper)? </li></ul>
24. 24. More to consider: <ul><li>Consider sentence structure and length. </li></ul><ul><li>Reconsider word choice. Never use profanity or slang. Always identify abbreviations. </li></ul><ul><li>Proofread for correct grammar, punctuation, typing errors. </li></ul><ul><li>REPEAT ALL OF THIS UNTIL YOU ARE SATISFIED (or cannot stand to look at it anymore). </li></ul>
25. 25. Last Items <ul><li>Give your paper a title </li></ul><ul><li>Make sure that your paper is on correct paper stock, typed, and legible. </li></ul><ul><li>Make sure that your paper is properly identified with your name, course title, date, and paper title </li></ul><ul><li>Make a copy of your paper and keep it as a record for yourself </li></ul><ul><li>Turn in your paper on time </li></ul> |
New Climate Data Graph 'Shows a World Stubbornly Refusing to Warm'
This graph should change the debate over global warming forever.
Pay close attention to what happens to the black line before and after the vertical white line. Everything to the left of that line was pieced together by global warming advocates after the fact. Their predictions going forward -- to the right of the white line -- have been proven wrong. If they were right, the black line would track with the pink and red areas. It doesn't.
The source of this graph is the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The effect of publishing this graph has been swift. Global warming advocates are backtracking.
Prof Allen says higher estimates are now ‘looking iffy’.
Global warming as it has been sold politically by alarmists like Al Gore is science fiction. He got rich, the rest of us have gotten stuck with the tax and energy bills. Governments including our own have invested vast sums of money imposing a "greener" economy, based on previous predictions that have now turned out flat wrong.
President Obama intends to double down on his bad green investments while he kills off the US coal industry and imposes a regime that, in his own words, will cause energy prices to "skyrocket." He and his EPA chiefs should be hauled to Congress for hearings, using the graph above as Exhibit A against them. |
The Atomic Age kicked off with a bang on July 16, 1945, with the detonation of a test uranium fission bomb at the Alamogordo Test Range in the New Mexico desert, during what's known as the "Golden Age" of comic books and strips. So although it may seem odd in the 21st century to read about nuclear power in the funny pages, it was perhaps inevitable during an age when both were still nascent curiosities.
Following is an example of early comic book artistry being used to explore and explain everything from atomic fission to using said fission to produce electricity. Courtesy of Ethan Persoff at
Slide Show: View the pages of the Power for Progress comic book |
The Ku Klux Klan Infiltrates Washington State in the 1920s
by Robert Rietz
The year was 1926. It was a beautiful warm spring day perfect for seeing a parade. The streets of Bellingham, Washington were overflowing with people jostling for position to watch the parade. Blankets were spread out along the sidewalk, and lawn chairs picketed the edge of the streets. The start of the parade was just a few minutes away.
There are many children playing in the street where, soon, the parade floats will be in view down the boulevard. The parade workers whisk away all the children playing in the street. The path is now clear for the parade floats as they move along their route. The parade started almost exactly on time. The floats are from all around Washington State with many themes and sponsors.
The floats have many motifs. The first float represents a local hardware store, with its display of giant tools covered in flowers. The second float is from a local city called Snohomish, and therefore displayed the local homecoming court with floral accoutrements. These were the kind of floats that appeared for the first part of the parade. Then it is reported that something unusual coming down the street.
20 minutes or so into the parade, a float from Puyallup, Washington came rolling down the street. The parade float came by us with eight men dressed in white robes and white hoods atop the completely flowered float. This float was sponsored by the Ku Klux Klan, and the float was covered with the symbols of the Klan. This parade float passed buy with eight men dressed in white robes and white hoods standing atop the flowered float covered in American flags. The article that I was reading in the Skagit River Journal also reported "The float received applause and a roar of support burst from the crowd." This revelation took me by surprise.
KKK Parade Float
How was this possible? The Ku Klux Klan had been thriving in my beloved Washington State during the 1920’s. I knew that I must learn how this happened. How did the Klan infiltrate Washington State in the 1920s? How did they get here? Who were these men in the white robes? And what did the people do about it?
The Ku Klux Klan that had established itself in Washington State during the 1920s was part of the second wave of The Ku Klux Klan. The first wave was spawned in the days after the Civil War. The South was weary from the Civil War. This created an atmosphere that was very conducive for the creation of this type of fear and hate mongering organization. The Klan was a secret organization that operated during the darkness of night wreaking havoc and destruction. David M Chalmers the author of Hooded Americanism reminds us that "the Ku Klux Klan turned into a vigilante force" and that "time was out of joint in the South and the social order was battered and turned upside down." This was David M Chalmers depiction of the first wave of the Ku Klux Klan, preying on the war weary to install the Klan in the South.
The Ku Klux Klan was an organization of hate. In order to further their agenda the Ku Klux Klan used Americanism, anti-Catholic, and anti-immigration sentiment to gain control of the South. To this end they would use intimidation and violence in order to boost membership, and their attempt to further white supremacy throughout the South.
The second wave of the Ku Klux Klan began in 1915, and the epic The Birth of a Nation was used to create a wave of interest in the Ku Klux Klan. This silent movie was directed by DW Griffith. The movie depicted black men as unintelligent and sexually aggressive towards white women. The movie was originally called the Clansman. This incarnation of the Klan sold itself on protection of American values, and America's traditions. The Klan also wanted to do something new in this version of itself. The Klan used state and local politics to create a power base for the Klan, and from there they wanted to create a national political base. Postwar America found the world changing almost as fast as the automobile. The Klan found lots of souls for sale, and the Klan bought as many as they could by any means necessary. The Klan recruitment tactics used people's patriotism, Christianity and their fear of foreigners. The Klan spread from the East Coast to West Coast, beginning in the Southeast and working its way all the way to the Northwest.
There were millions of recruits for the Ku Klux Klan in America in the 1920s. As Chalmers points out the Klan "first caught on in the Southeast, where Georgia was its Citadel and Atlanta its holy city, the Klan was a national phenomenon." The state of Georgia was established as the center of Klan activity since the Civil War. Georgia had a tradition of supporting Klan values, and lending assistance to Klan members. The Ku Klux Klan spread across the country very rapidly, like the deadly flu virus that had raged across the nation only a few years earlier.
The Oregon chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in LaGrande Oregon was the driving force behind the Ku Klux Klan's infiltration into Washington State. The Klan wanted to move beyond the negative representation of itself from the past, and move into mainstream politics. The Ku Klux Klan became very strong in the politics of Oregon State. The Klan's largest accomplishment happened On November 7, 1922. This was the date when voters approved the outlawing of private schools in Oregon State.
The elimination of private schools was the high point for the Klan in Oregon politics. This new law was sponsored by the Ku Klux Klan in order to eliminate the catholic private schools in Oregon State. The Ku Klux Klan's national headquarters in Washington, D.C. that controlled the state membership, decided it would be a good idea to try and replicate this same idea in Washington State.
The Ku Klux Klan infiltrated Washington State in the 1920s as part of the second wave of Ku Klux Klan, and its quest for more and greater power. The Klan used the political system to gain power and economic influence throughout the country during this time. The Klan controlled the state legislatures and Governors offices in Indiana, Colorado, and Oregon states and wanted to continue growing. So, the Klan came to Washington State looking to expand once more.
The Klan grew to become a strong contingent, consisting of members in Washington State, on both the east and west sides of the Cascade Mountains. The Washington state Klan organized many public rallies between 1923 and 1924. The size of these Klan rallies ranged from 20,000 to 70,000 people, as reported by Trevor Griffey in his article The Ku Klux Klan in Washington State. The violence of the past had been superseded by the image of nonviolence, and joining political parties in state and local governments. Even though they disavowed violent behavior in public the Ku Klux Klan used intimidation campaigns against labor activists, and Japanese farmers in Yakima Valley and many other areas of the state.
The Klan was able to infiltrate Washington State in the 1920s very rapidly because of strong political and economic support from the Oregon State chapters. Political support shows that the Kent Mayor and the city attorney in Bellingham were open members of the Klan. In 1929 the Ku Klux Klan held its state convention in Bellingham Washington. At their state convention the grand Wizard was introduced to the community by the mayor of Bellingham, and unbelievably given the key to the city. The Ku Klux Klan loved to put on a public spectacle. The history of this terroristic organization shows how the Klan used spectacular mass meetings and any sort of public display to gain membership and influence public opinion.
The kind of display that the Klan used in Washington State was most often public speeches mixed with fireworks and alcohol. As reported in the Sumner News on Friday, October 13, 1922 the Ku Klux Klan had organized a rally. It was a naturalization and initiation ceremony of 1200 Klansmen during the previous weekend. This was a night time, outdoor rally lit up by a huge burning cross on the side of the south hill. As reported in the Sumner News "the cross was made of sawdust and placed in the shallow trenches filled with wood chips and saturated with oil. The dimensions were about 180' x 160', and when lighted its huge size would cast the light far up and down the valley."
The Klan liked the rally tactic and, on July 16, 1924, they promised to put Issaquah the map by attracting the largest crowd of the town's history. In order to attend what they called an elaborate initiation ceremony of new members. In an article written by Joe Peterson, a teacher at Issaquah high school, and contributor of the Pacific Northwest Forum, Peterson attributes the following quote to the Ku Klux Klan. "Those attending were to be treated to: stirring, patriotic music, 2 plays introducing entertaining speakers, an impressive ceremony of naturalization and initiation in full public view, and finally, a big display of fireworks." Peterson also attributed the Klan as saying that "all law-abiding citizens were urged to attend so they might get first-hand evidence by which they may form their opinions of the Klan." To read this was almost painful because of the hypocrisy demonstrated by the Klan and their spin machine of the time. But what were the people of Washington State going to do about this if anything?
Washington State did have some people that stood up against the Ku Klux Klan. The people that stood up against the Klan were certainly not the people who had the most power. They were the people that had the most to lose. This is the true story of true courage in the small town of Spokane Washington in the early 1920s. The number of Klansmen in Washington State was also impressive. Joe Franklin an Assistant Professor in Black Studies at Eastern Washington State College estimated that “the Klan had 40,000 members in Washington State alone." The Ku Klux Klan was able to spread throughout Washington concentrated in Seattle, Spokane, Walla Walla, and Tacoma. But when they came to Spokane, Washington, they were in for something a little different.
"The Klan had a membership that included businessman, clergy, public officials, judges, police and other respectable citizens." These are the types of individuals that were members of the Ku Klux Klan, and thus, they would be the people you would have to fight in order to defeat the Klan in Spokane. Spokane had a long positive relationship with the African American townsfolk who lived there. African-Americans supported many churches in the area, but, as reported in the Pacific Northwest Forum "the most stable institution in Spokane's black community was the church. The two major black churches were the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Calvary Baptist Church. For many Blacks, these institutions were the nucleus of activity, hope, achievement and recognition." This base of power would allow African-Americans to become members of political parties in Spokane.
In Spokane's political arena, African-Americans were represented by members of the church, primarily. Spokane's African-American community had many political organizations NAACP, The Afro-American Club, and The Spokane County Colored Republican Club-- to speak for them in the political arena, and speak they did. The African-American community was truly ahead of its time in the area of civil rights.
The African-American community in Spokane was very strong compared to many other African-American communities in Washington State, or the nation, for that matter. When the Ku Klux Klan came, they were ready to fight for their rights. Being such a strong presence in the community of Spokane, the African-Americans were able to buy property and several businesses throughout the city. These rights had been won over time, and through the close interactions and personal relationships between the African-American community and local government. So, when the Klan decided it was going to move in to Spokane, the African-American community was aware of the Ku Klux Klan and their propensity for violence and hatred, and they geared up for a fight: a fight for their rights, their dignity, and their lives.
The meetings were organized almost overnight, and mostly in churches. When the African-American community got the word that the Ku Klux Klan was coming to Spokane soon they jumped into action. And what would their action be? The African-American community would use a two-pronged approach. First, they would present a united front, and second, they would head off any incidents of organized intimidation before they had a chance to gain a foothold. Even so, the Ku Klux Klan did set up operations in Spokane. It only took six months for the first confrontation to occur.
Confrontations with the Klan started with warning notes. The notes were printed on black paper with a picture of a skull and cross bones. The Klan denied any ownership of these notes. But it was widely suspected that the Klan or someone in the Klan had written the notes. This was the start of what was to be a righteous and honorable fight for civil rights in this town of Spokane, Washington. This fight would be reminiscent of David and Goliath. The note was generated after a confrontation over African-Americans being denied service in a drugstore lunch bar, after having been served previously in the coffee shop. As reported by the Spokane Chronicle "they were denied service even though they had received prompt and courteous service prior to the arrival of the Klan.” The court case was to be fought in Olympia, Washington, presided over by the Honorable Judge Girard. The Olympia court ruled: "the drugstore is a public place and its purpose is to serve the public." Even though the African-American community had won this round, they believed that they still had to be on guard against the Klan. The African-American community was correct to stay on guard. The Klan would not let this incident go. There were more threats of violence against the black community.
The Klan would not take responsibility for this note, saying "we are not Negro baiters. It is not our practice to send notes of this nature.” This was the official denial by the Klan for this incident. The Klan had one last final statement, and it said “they would've sent a professional typewritten letter on Klan stationary.”They claimed that” They wouldn't have sent any anonymous letters or notes.” What was really ironic about this final statement was the fact that it was full of spelling and grammar errors in the statement. Spokane was able to hold the Ku Klux Klan in check inside the city limits. Through a combination of police, government, and community efforts the city was able to keep the Klan from gaining any real power.
The city of Spokane supported the Negro population during this second wave of Ku Klux Klan activity. Policies by the police and other Spokane agencies influenced Klan activities, and therefore they were greatly minimized in the city of Spokane. This was because the city was put on notice by the African-American community that they would fight for their civil rights. The African-American community was also helped by the strong stance taken by the people,and newspapers to help diminish the amount of influence the Klan could wield. The city and people of Spokane should feel proud of this era in their history because other cities in Washington State did not act as well.
There were many cities and any individuals influenced by the Ku Klux Klan in Washington State. During the years that the Klan tried to gain a foothold in Washington State, there were no great accomplishments. The largest failure of the Klan was the defeat of the compulsory school bill of Washington State, filed January 9, 1924. This would be the beginning of the end for the Klan in Washington State.
The Klan still enjoyed their spectacles. The Klan continued to hold large meetings, and published a white supremacist newspaper called and: The Watcher on the Tower. This was an attempt to gain the most notoriety and support possible. The Klan also continued to attend parades in full Klan dress whenever possible. The tenure of the Klan in Washington State lasted until the early 1930s. The Klan didn't go out with a blaze of glory; it went out with a whimper and just faded away from Washington State. The Klan started to lose its power base after the unsuccessful anti-private school initiative failed. The Klan continue to self-destruct with several internals scandals, the scandals dealt with misappropriation of funds by leaders. The end of the Klan came in the 1930s after their reorganization to Bellingham failed.
Works Cited
Bartoetti,Susan. They called themselves the KKK: the birth of an American terrorist group.
Boston: Houghton Miffin Harcourt. 2010. Print.
Blee,Kathleen M. Women of the Klan: gender and racism in the 1920s. Berkeley. University of
California Press. 1991. Print.
Boudouin,Richard E. Ku Klux Klan: a history of racism and violence. Montgomery. Klanwatch of
Southern Poverty Law Center. 1997. Print.
Chalmers,David Mark. Hooded Americanism: the history of the Ku Klux Klan. Durham. Duke
University Press. 1987. Print.
Davis, Lenwood G. and Sims-Wood, Janet L. The Ku Klux Klan: A Bibliography. Westport,
Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984. Print.
Franklin, Joseph. "The Ku Klux Klan in the city of Spokane 1921-1924." The Northwest Forum Volume 1, Number 4, (1977) Page 19-24.Print.
Gitlin,Marty. The Klu Klux Klan: a guide to an American subculture. Santa Barbara. Greenwood
Press.2009. Print.
Griffey, Trevor. "The Washington State Klan in the 1920' s." Seattle Civil Rights and Labor
Project (2001): 1. Web. 7 December
Horowitz, David A. Inside the Klavern: the secret history of a Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s. United
States of America: Southern Illinois UP, 1999.Print.
Katz, William Loren. The Black West. Seattle. Open Hand Publishing Inc, 1987.Print
Ku Klux Klan : a secret history. Chalmers,David Mark. DVD. A&E Television Networks. 1998.
"Ku Klux Klan ‘Naturalization’ On Hill East of Town Saturday". The Sumner News. October
Lipin,Lawrence M., Workers and the Wild: Conservation, Consumerism, and Labor in Oregon,
1910-1930. Chicago: University of Illinois press, 2007.Print.
Mayer, Gabriel. "KKK in Bellingham, 1920s." Skagit River Journal. December 7, 2004.Pg.2.Print.
Mecklin,John Moffatt. The Ku Klux Klan: a study of the American mind. New York. Russell and
Russell.1924. Print.
Peterson, Joe. "The great Ku Klux Klan rally in Issaquah, Washington." The Northwest Forum volume 11, Number 1 (1977): Page 23-28.Print.
Ripp,Bart. "Paulhamus was active Klan member". The News Tribune. September 8, 2000.Pg1.Print.
Smith, John David. Anti-Black Thought 1863-1925: Racial Determinism and the Fear of
Miscegenation. New York: Garland publishing Inc. 1993.Print.
The Sumner news. Friday, October 13, 1922, Page 1. Print
Tucker,Todd. Notre Dame vs. the Klan: how The Fighting Irish defeated the KKK. Chicago Loyola
Press.2004. Print. Go to sleep the sleep
Meyer, Gabriel. Skagit River Journal. December 7, 2004. Print.
Chalmers, David M. Hooded Americanism. Durham, North Carolina. Duke University Press. 1987. Print.
Griffey, Trevor. Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, U.W.
The Sumner News. Friday, October 13, 1922.Page 1
Peterson, Joe. Pacific Northwest Forum. Volume 11, number 1, page 18-23. Print.
Franklin, Joe. Pacific Northwest Forum. Volume 1, Number 4, Page 23. Print.
Franklin, Joe. Pacific Northwest Forum. Volume 1, Number 4, Page 19. Print.
Franklin, Joe. Pacific Northwest Forum. Volume 1, Number 4, Page 20.Print.
Spokane Negroes fear KKK, Spokane Chronicle, December 9, 1921, Page 6
Franklin, Joe. The Northwest Forum.
Says Klan Is Not Negro Baiters, Spokane Chronicle, December 12, 1921
Franklin, Joe. The Northwest Forum. Volume 1, Number 4, Page 21.Print. |
Friday, April 8, 2011
Smells and how to use them in your writing.
We have plenty of words to describe other senses and sensations, but smell seems to defy words. The human sense of smell is not heavily developed compared to that of many animals. Still, it's a deep and rich sense, and it can enhance how you communicate, especially when you're crafting a story or describing a moment.
When we use smells in our writing, it can enhance the readers experience by tying them to the scene, giving them something to relate to that makes it feel real to them. Before you add smells to your WIP, there are a few things you need to do first so you can have the greatest impact. Well, you don't have to do all of these, pick and choose the ones that work for you.
The following is condensed from WikiHow
1. Identify your reason for describing the smell.
• Do you want to capture the nature of the smell or the overall quality?
• Do you want your reader or listener to recognize an unfamiliar smell based on your description?
• Do you want to evoke a certain meaning or feeling in your reader?
2. Observe the smell. If it's possible and safe to do so, smell what you wish to describe. Pay full attention to it:
• Remove distractions. Don't smoke or wear fragrances.
• Take breaks. The sense of smell acclimates or becomes accustomed to a smell. Remove the smell or remove yourself from the smell for awhile if you stop being able to smell it or smell it distinctly.
3. Notice any words, images, feelings, or memories that the smell brings to mind. If you have any sort of gut reaction, pay attention to it. Make notes if you can, even if they're disjointed.
Example: Words that come to mind when I smell mud: damp, earthy, spring, mudpies, childhood, coolness around my toes, squishy, scummy fingernails, moldy
4. Notice descriptions of smells when you see or hear them.
5. Use adjectives.
• Adjectives can describe the general, overall quality of the smell. Wispy, rancid, airy, musty, stale, fresh, putrid, faint, light, floral, and acrid are all adjectives that could pertain to smell.
• Smell origins may take the form of a noun (the smell of leather) or an adjective (a leathery smell). The adjective may describe the effect where the noun describes a specific source.
6. Use nouns.
• Be specific. Smoke smells different depending on where it came from. Can you tell the difference between smoke from a campfire and a wildfire? Between cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke? Could you recognize by smell burning rubber or a vehicle that was burning oil?
• Be creative. What does spring smell like?
7. Use verbs.
8. Borrow words associated with other senses. Smell doesn't have a lot of vocabulary of its own, but many other senses do, and they can suggest the quality or nature of a smell.
• Sight. Can a smell be bright or dark? Can a smell be pink or green? Can it be clear or hazy? Can it be fast? Slow? Sluggish? Smooth?
• Sound. Can a smell be dissonant? Harmonious? Loud or quiet?
• Touch. Can a smell be sharp or dull? Even or jagged? Smooth or rough? Heavy or light? Cool or hot? How would you physically react to the smell? Would you relax or stiffen, pucker, or make a face?
Example: Spring smells yellow/green to me. Makes sense, right? Spring, baby green leaves coming out all over, and sometimes in the south the air looks baby green because of all the pollen in the air. Those living in the south know about the thin (sometimes thick) coating of yellow powder that clings to our cars each spring.
We get this much daily!
9. Consider what feelings and emotions a smell evokes, especially if you are using it as a literary device. Smell can conjure associations with particular events or general thoughts or emotions.
• Is the smell startling or jarring? Soothing or comforting? Earthy or natural? Chemical or antiseptic?
• Smell is often strongly associated with memories, but this is only useful if you're describing the smell to yourself (such as in a journal) since you can't know what somebody smelled in their memories.
10. Use Metaphors: A smell can't really grab someone by the nose or stab someone, but this might be a powerful description.
Ok, do you know what comes next? I'm going to ask the question again. Yes, I am because the last two times I asked I didn't get any response.
Do you want to help me build a Smell Thesaurus on my Descriptive Faces Blog? You will be credited for the smells you contribute and the post will link to your blog as well. Please, please, please?
All you have to do is:
1. tell me in the comment what smell(s) you want to write a thesaurus entry for,
2. write the entry
3. email it to
I'll post it and then send you the information so you can share the post with your blog readers.
1. Such a helpful post!
I write books set in the American Southwest, specifically the Sonoran Desert. Smells are very important to describe because it can also help the reader to understand the place, even the season. Best smell ever: Creosote after it rains in the desert. :-)
2. This is an awesome post. I'd never given writing about smells in my mss that much thought. I will now.
3. I don't have a sense of smell, so there's not much I can really do. BTW, it was funny in one story I said Edinburgh smelled like something and a critter said, "That's not what it smells like!" Unfortunately she didn't tell me what it does smell like because I have no way of knowing.
4. I remember when I was going to school in Moscow, Idaho, if we took a trip to Lewiston...I could identify where we were because of the smell that emanated from the Potlatch Fertilizer Plant and their pollution abatement pond.
5. Liz, what does Creosote after rain smell like? Want to write it up for the thesaurus? Please?
Stina, I don't use it a lot, but sometimes it adds just that extra depth to make a scene or setting feel real. Good luck!
LOL, Rogue, sometimes not being able to smell would be a blessing. As exemplified by Micahel's comment. And baby diapers, rotting trash, sewage back up in the street, throw up after your kids eat hot dogs--wow, that is the worst smell EVER! You should ask the critter to tell you what it smells like, and then send her to me so I can post it on the blog.
6. Good lord, you wrote a book about scent! This post should be separated into chapters.
I use scent/smell in all my stories. It's an important sense. In fact, I have to be careful not to over-use scent in my descriptions. It should be sparse and potent.
I find myself lacking most at the tactile senses like hot/cold, rough, smooth and so forth. I have to force my characters to experience tacticity, but scent, that comes naturally. I ~see~ it as I write, because I smell the world around me as I live.
And don't forget how closely related scent and taste are. One cannot go without the other.
- Eric
7. That's an awesome idea! I wish I had some smells to suggest but my brain is fried. Good luck!
8. Interesting topic. I do try to incorporate smells sometimes because I know I need to have more than sight, touch and sound. Wish I could help with your smell thesaurus but I'm already a bit overwhelmed. HOpe you find some great people to help. Sounds like an interesting idea.
9. This is a great post! Describing smells uniquely can be tricky, but these are good suggestions how to do it. Very nice, Charity! :)
10. Fantastic post! When I start my edit, i will be making sure I've used variety in sense descriptions to bring the scenes alive for the reader. Smell is very closely linked with memory too. I will definitely contribue to your Smell Thesaurus. I'll just have a think about what smells I'd like to describe. :-)
11. The sense of smell is so closely linked to memory, that it would be a great way to hint at backstory or weave it in somehow. Great tips. I'm bookmarking!
12. Hey, I linked to you this morning. Apparently we were thinking about similar things over the past few days :)
East for Green Eyes
13. This is a great post. I have a very bad nose (too many chemicals at work) and so I rarely use sense of smell in my novels. I might have to try sniffing some things out and adding in some smells.
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Complex Ovarian Cyst
Ovarian CystsComplex ovarian cysts are semi-solid and liquid foreign components that are unwanted and highly trouble-some, which usually is found to occur and grow in and around a woman’s ovary. These are serious sorts of foreign components that affects the patient’s health very badly, which may sometimes even lead to death depending upon the extent of their severity.
Apart from the extreme physical inconvenience, complex ovarian cysts even affect patients, emotionally and psychologically, to an enormous extent. Thereby, these cysts even affect their social movements at various levels although their occurrence is quite rare.
Coming to the causes, there are numerous causes which lead to a complex ovarian cyst and in some cases lead to a ovarian cyst rupture. The usual ones among them are namely obesity, genetic predisposition, weakened immune system, ignorance and neglect of the ovarian cysts, existence of other forms of diseases, other lifestyle connected aspects and a comprehensive set of other related medical causes.
For a proper treatment of complex ovarian cysts and to avoid it’s rupture, it is highly essential to know about the type of cyst that has occurred in an individual patient, who is suffering from them. There are three types of the complex ovarian cysts, which prevail in the affectant’s body, namely dermoid cysts, endometrioma and cystadenomas.
Causes of Ovarian CystDermoid cysts‘ are formed from the same cells, which produce the human ovum. Due to this aspect, such cysts looks like human beings, through the presence of various parts such as hair, teeth and other tissues that are alike to that of humans. Although such cysts do not extensively spread in an uncontrollable way and are not as dangerous as cancer, they trouble the affected women immensely, in both, physical and psychological respects.
‘Endometrioma’ is a type of cyst, which grows outside the uterus and causes endometriosis.
It may result into many sorts of complications within and outside the ovaries and hence the concerned medical physician has to give an appropriate treatment as soon as its diagnosis takes place.
‘Cystadenomas’ are large cysts, which contain liquid components as well as mucus and are normally too trouble-some. These cysts get winded over themselves during certain occasions, thereby resulting in extreme pain and uneasiness.
Leaving all these possibilities with respect to the health status of a women, there are some more specific health causes that would result in the formation of such ovarian cysts, which are complex in nature.
Actually, there is no particular way to treat patients, who are suffering with complex ovarian cysts. Whereas, there is almost unanimous opinion about the best approach that the doctors can follow for the sake of treating this medical issue in the best possible manner and that is the holistic approach of treating the concerned patients.
Ovarian Cyst
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Harnessing the Weather
Could new technology help humans eliminate "acts of God"?
By Donovan Webster|Friday, June 06, 2008
Raising stormfury
Changing the weather has been a scientific quest since the 16th century, when rogue intellectual Leonardo da Vinci asked the city fathers of Verona to shoot cannonballs skyward to halt the hail. But it wasn’t until after World War II, at the improbable site of the General Electric Laboratory in Schenectady, New York, that a plan went into effect. In the beginning, a team that included atmospheric scientist Bernard Vonnegut (brother of novelist Kurt) sent up a plane and released dry ice into clouds on four days during November and December 1946. Whether by coincidence or through actual impact, the last day of seeding saw the heaviest snowfall of the winter around Schenectady. Vonnegut went on to invent what amounted to a nucleating machine: He dissolved silver iodide in acetone, sprayed the solution through a nozzle to make droplets, and then literally burned the droplets, producing trillions of nuclei; under the right conditions, each could form the core of a drop of water or flake of snow. But General Electric, wary of potential lawsuits, gradually moved away from direct involvement in weather research.
By the 1960s the U.S. military had taken the reins. Its effort, called Project StormFury, aimed to weaken hurricanes by seeding their upper reaches with silver iodide crystals, nucleating agents that would increase the amount of ice swirling around in the storm. The idea was that as water became ice, it would release heat. The heat, in turn, would widen the eye of the storm and decrease the strength of its winds.
Unfortunately, StormFury’s statistical findings were ambiguous. While human manipulations did sometimes seem to weaken hurricanes, test flights into the storms never provided proof. “What we didn’t know at the time,” says Charles Hosler, professor emeritus of meteorology at Penn State University and former StormFury panel chairman, “is that measuring the forces inside hurricanes is far more complex than what was possible with the equipment of the time.”
Neither fog, nor rain, nor hail
The shuttering of StormFury in 1983 signaled a new age of skepticism and the end of major federal funding for weather-control research. Indeed, while many practitioners pointed to statistical evidence suggesting their techniques worked, it was usually impossible to prove it; one could never precisely predict what would have happened had the intervention not taken place. Amid such doubt, the federal government backed off, and weather modification became the province of private companies and local municipalities.
Some of these efforts have thrived. Less than an hour’s drive from Grantsville is one of the most successful and scientifically validated weather-modification operations in the world. The wizard behind the curtain is Richard Blair, CEO and chief bottle washer of Barken Fog Ops, a fog-abatement company in Salt Lake City. The company’s mission: to expunge the crippling cold fogs at Salt Lake City International, which would otherwise shut the airport down. The fogs visit from October to March, anytime a stubborn pool of cold air settles across the Salt Lake Valley between the Wasatch and Oquirrh mountains. Whenever a front of warmer air sweeps over the frigid pool, the result is a fog that hovers roughly 1,000 feet aboveground, socking the airport in.
The first, tiny effort to deal with the problem took place decades ago, when pilots distributed buckets of ice over the fog. As the mix fell, it interacted with suspended water vapor, clearing the fog every time.
Today, working out of a civilian hangar, Blair can be found directing flights most mornings from October through February. Fog Ops has an agreement with Salt Lake City International through its largest operator, Delta Airlines, to banish the fog.
It’s not uncommon for Blair to get a 2 a.m. telephone call asking, “Can you stand by?” By 5 a.m. Blair and his crew—a pilot, a grinder, and a man with a bucket to fill the grinder’s hopper—are ready. As the warm upper atmosphere gains heat under the rising sun, the fog grows ever denser, and Blair’s team heads off to work. They load six insulated boxes of dry ice crystals into the company’s twin-engine Piper Chieftain and fly just above the fog, blanketing the runways.
“We’re usually flying up in the sunshine, just above the fog,” Blair says. “As the aircraft makes a turn you can see a little glint coming from down below as the first ice crystals begin to form. Then a hole opens up in the fog.” Occasionally, Blair says, the atmosphere will become so saturated with supercooled water molecules that the effort kicks off a four-hour snowstorm.
Despite unintended snow, the effort is a raging success. In the end the airlines pay Fog Ops less than $1 in fees for each plane that lands at Salt Lake City International. (They also pay a seasonal retainer.) With some 450 planes arriving daily, and potential losses of $50,000 to $900,000—depending on the particulars of the flight —for each plane that can’t get in or out, the value of fog abatement is staggering. Relatively small payments to Fog Ops provide carriers with the assurance that flights will run regularly and on time.
About 800 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, in the wide-open plains of western North Dakota, hail suppression is the goal. Hail forms inside powerful thunderstorms, often when warm, moist air rises rapidly in the atmosphere. In the Dakotas, these storms can have devastating effects on crops. For more than 30 years, the state of North Dakota has been seeding clouds with silver iodide both to abate the hail and to create rain. “We have eight aircraft standing ready,” says Darin Langerud, director of the North Dakota State Water Commission’s atmospheric research board, “and when conditions are right to promote rain or to suppress hail, they go up.”
“The hail suppression program is one of our great successes,” Langerud says. “We know this because we’ve worked with crop insurance companies for statistics. We compared virtually identical seeded and nonseeded areas of farmland, and the area where the seeding had been done showed a 45 percent lower incidence of hail-damage claims. We’re not saying that hail didn’t fall, but it fell in smaller pieces, which ultimately did less crop damage on the ground.”
Retooling the perfect storm
It is one thing to increase rainfall or reduce the size of hailstones. But when it comes to controlling truly huge, complex, chaotic events like hurricanes and tornadoes, the fix remains theoretical. At least for now, the testing ground is a computer simulation or often just the space inside a physicist’s head.
“With powerful weather forces like hurricanes and tornadoes,” Ross Hoffman of AER says, “the biggest impediment to learning more about them and their structure is that you often can’t get good observations, since the conditions are just too extreme. In many cases the weather you’re hoping to measure renders your instruments unreliable near the event’s peak activity, just when you need them to measure best.” Still, those obstacles haven’t stopped Hoffman and others from hypothesizing how such systems might be modified and then simulating the fix on a computer screen.
Hurricanes, the largest and most damaging weather events, peak in late autumn, when winds coming off the coast of West Africa meet thunderstorms clustered over the warm tropical ocean. The resulting disturbance can form a self-sustaining low-pressure vortex, or what is called a tropical depression; as the system intensifies it becomes a tropical storm. Then, if the winds of this self-sustaining system top 75 miles an hour, it earns a new name: hurricane. In the end, the greater the difference between the temperature of the sea and that of the upper atmosphere, the more powerful the storm.
After studying this dynamic, Hoffman suggested a scheme to weaken a hurricane or shift its path by heating and cooling the atmosphere in complex patterns. While his plan would, theoretically, help tame the weather, we have no reliable way to heat or cool the atmosphere over large enough areas to move a massive storm. “So today,” Hoffman says, “while I can demonstrate that steering a hurricane is possible using computer simulations, we still don’t have a practical way to do it.”
Another hurricane-moderating hypothesis, this one advanced by Daniel Rosenfeld of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and William Woodley, an independent weather-modification researcher based in Colorado, holds that seeding a hurricane’s lower reaches with microscopic dust particles—perhaps microbits of salt—would generate minute water droplets by giving the vapor something to attach to. The droplets would eventually be carried into the storm’s higher altitude, cooling the hurricane through evaporation in the same manner that sweat cools human skin. As the droplets evaporated, they would cool the air in the lower levels of the storm, diminishing its intensity. “Our simulations show that this would be the outcome,” Woodley says.
Tell it to the judge
Even as enhanced computer modeling and more precise measurement bring control of extreme weather closer, those pushing the envelope find themselves facing the same hurdle as Bernard Vonnegut and his colleagues at General Electric half a century ago: the risk of getting sued.
“So here we are, back to weather modification’s critical issue,” says Michael Garstang, distinguished research professor emeritus of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia. “If you cannot predict very precisely what would have happened with, say, a hurricane before you began manipulating it, you’ve left yourself wide open to litigation. There’s just too big an opportunity for people to say: ‘You created this. You made it worse.’”
Charles Hosler agrees. “That’s exactly why there will never be large-scale weather modification or weather control in America. All weather is good for somebody and bad for somebody else.” When altered weather causes a problem for people, he contends, those people are likely to sue.
On this subject Hosler speaks from experience. Along with colleagues, he was once sued by a sightseer riding a ski lift. After the lift’s motor was hit and halted by lightning, the man jumped rather than wait for rescuers; on landing, he broke his leg. Then he discovered that Hosler and his team had been studying thunderclouds nearby. Soon all parties were involved in a lawsuit that was eventually tossed out of court.
Hosler recalls another colleague, this one working in hail abatement research in Pennsylvania, who ran afoul of local fruit farmers who worried that the effort might cause a drought and ruin their livelihood. They reacted by shooting bullets into the sky, hitting a plane flown by student pilots. “People, they get really emotional about their weather,” Hosler says.
If getting sued over a little lightning has some scientists in a tizzy, imagine the risk for those who seek to change the climate in a major way. Nevertheless, some mavericks feel we have no choice as we deal with global warming. Astrophysicist Gregory Benford of the University of California at Irvine, for instance, suggests dispersing tiny particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from us.
And then there’s Roger Angel, an astronomer and optical scientist at the University of Arizona who, working under a NASA grant, seeks to launch trillions of two-foot-wide disks of transparent film into orbit around Earth, a million miles up. The disks, each 250 nanometers thick and tended by “sheepdog” spacecraft to keep them in place, would shade us just enough to reduce sunlight by roughly 2 percent, cooling the planet back to preindustrial temperatures and perhaps moderating some of the destructive weather we have had in recent years.
“I estimate that the program would take 20 years and cost about $5 trillion,” Angel says. But what if, once shaded, Earth begins to overcool? Angel has a contingency there. “Over time, these disks will want to drift out of orbit. We could make it so they stayed in place for only so long.”
Who will stop the Beijing rain? On the 8th of August, 91,000 people will be sitting in an open-air stadium in Beijing for the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics. With thousands of athletes in competition and millions of people watching the event on television, the last thing the Chinese government wants is a rainstorm to spoil this well-planned spectacle.
Tinkering with the weather is old hat for the Chinese, who have employed various cloud-busting techniques to trigger rainfall in their drought-plagued northern provinces, an area that includes Beijing, since the 1950s. For the Olympics, the world’s largest weather modification bureau will set up several banks of rocket launchers outside the city to blast threatening clouds with silver iodide and force them to release their rain before it reaches the Olympic stadium. The bureau has also been practicing a less well-honed strategy that involves overseeding the clouds to actually prevent rainfall; this technique increases the number of ice crystals in a cloud but decreases their mean size, which makes them less likely to fall as rain.
“None of these techniques is a proven technology,” says Roelof Bruintjes, an expert in weather modification at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado. “I am very skeptical of their having any chance of success.” Of course, the Chinese know full well that weather control is still more art than science. They are just hoping to beat the odds, which, according to historical records, call for a 50 percent chance of rain sometime during the events.
Patrick Huyghe
The high cost of weather
When the wrong weather hits the wrong region at the wrong time, the human and economic consequences can be devastating. Here is a list of the most costly events in recent times:
- Hurricane Mitch, an unusually slow-moving storm, ambled into Central America in 1998 and dumped almost six feet of rain, primarily on Honduras and Nicaragua. The combination of ferocious winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, and mud slides added up to more than 10,000 deaths, millions left homeless, and more than $5 billion in damage.
- The European heat wave of 2003 is estimated to have cost 35,000 to 50,000 lives, and its accompanying drought brought notable crop shortfalls. It is worth remembering, however, that drought in one part of a country is sometimes balanced by excess rain elsewhere.
- Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, is in a class by itself: In addition to the loss of life, it caused $40 billion in insurance losses. Thirty oil platforms and nine refineries were destroyed or forced to shut down, and tens of thousands of jobs were lost. Some estimates place the eventual total cost of the disaster at $200 billion.
- The Australian drought of 2006–2007 sliced about 1 percent off the country’s total economic output over the last few years, at the same time reducing wheat production and devastating farm incomes.
-Carl Brenner
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Cristal baschet
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Ensemble Hope. F. Bousquet M.A. Millon
The cristal baschet
The "Cristal Baschet" is an acoustic musical instrument of a category known as friction idiophones. The vibration of its individual elements produces musical tones by means of friction. These vibrating elements are metal rods embedded onto a heavy plate. The pitch of the sound tone is determined by the rod's length, weight and its position at the equilibrium point. A vibration is caused when an attached glass rod is gently stroked with wet fingers.
The vibration of the rod with greater amplitude and weaker pressure is transmitted on to the metal fitting. This causes a transformation in the vibrations and the shape of the wave produced. The vibrations propagating through the metal have a high pressure and a weaker amplitude. This amplification in pressure is the result of fiberglass cones that are fixed in a wood frame alongside a tall, cut-out metal part in the shape of a flame. "Whiskers," placed on the side of the instrument, amplify high-pitched sounds. The Cristal Baschet is also known as the Crystal Organ and the Crystal Baschet. The range of a concert Cristal is 5 octaves. The sound of the Cristal has nothing to do with the glass harmonica. The Cristal Baschet was created in 1952 by the French instrument makers and artists Bernard and Francois Baschet. The Baschet brothers specialized in creating sculptures that can be "played" to produce music. They invented the inflatable guitar, an aluminum piano, and then created an "educational instrumentarium" for giving young people exposure in musical concepts.
The Cristal Baschet was developed around the same time as musique concrète (Avant-Garde musical style introduced by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry), Electro-Acoustic music and early Moog synthesizers. The Cristal Baschet produces music similar in style to these other musical forms, but through purely acoustic means; no electrical amplification is involved.
Baschet bass cristal
The Cristal Baschet has been used for several different applications, such as Ballet music,Songs, Film and Theater-music, Jazz, Rock, Electronic music, Improvisation, Tales and Contemporary[clarification needed] music.
Composers who have used the Cristal Baschet include François Bayle, Thomas Bloch,[1] Michel Deneuve, Luc Ferrari, Cliff Martinez, Jean-Michel Jarre, Guy Reibel, Etienne Rolin, Mike Sheridan, Toru Takemitsu, Michel Redolfi and Daft Punk ("Motherboard" in "Random Access Memories").[1][citation needed] Recent compositions via the instrument have been written by Sir Roger Steptoe, Horatiu Radulescu, Bruno Giner, Eric Fisher, Emmanuel Séjourné, Alain Voirpy, Alain Labarsouque, Jean-Michel Hasler, Jean Philippe Calvin, Frederic Bousquet and Marc Antoine Millon.
In United Kingdom, the most familiar musical piece to be played with the Cristal Baschet is 'Maneche', composed by Jacques Lasry, which has been used for over twenty years as the opening theme to the Granada Television children's programme Picture Box.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
1. ^ a b "Thomas Bloch uses cristal baschet". Retrieved 11 September 2104. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) |
Up Privacy & Disclaimer Search Home Vision Test Routine Eye Examination
Dr. Sanjay Dhawan
Last Update - 03 March, 2005
High beam of head-light of a on-coming car has blinding effect and decreases visibility dangerously. A fielder in the outfield of a cricket match misses a crucial catch because of glare from the flood lights or the sun. Every one knows what is glare and every one has experienced it too, but when asked to describe or define most are confused.
Glare can be really troublesome in patients of cataract or after Lasik correction.
Glare can be defined as the contrast lowering effect of stray light in a visual scene. Glare forms a veil of luminance which reduces the contrast and thus the visibility of a target is decreased. We cannot see intensity differences efficiently in the presence of a high background of light intensity. And the sensitivity to glare is amplified as scattering in cornea or lens increases.
Intraocular Light Scatter in Normal Eyes
Cornea 30 %
Lens 70 %
Aqueous & vitreous < 1 %
Types of Glare
Glare can be divided into two types:
1. Discomfort glare
2. Disability glare
Discomfort Glare refers to the sensation one experiences when the overall illumination is too bright e.g. on a snow field under bright sun.
Disability Glare refers to reduced visibility of a target due to the presence of a light source elsewhere in the field. It occurs when light from glare source is scattered by the ocular media. This scattered light forms a veil of luminance which reduces the contrast and thus the visibility of the target.
Contrast can be defined as the difference between the luminance of the target and the background relative to the average luminance of the scene.
Contrast = Target illuminance-Background illuminance
Target illuminance+Background illuminance
usually expressed as percentage (%) or as a fraction.
Scattered light raises the luminance of both the target and the background to same extent thereby reducing the contrast.
Causes of Glare
I. Discomfort Glare
1. Uveitis
2. Ocular albinism
3. Cone-Rod dystrophy
4. Retinitis pigmentosa
II. Disability Glare
1. Old age - The intraocular scatter of light and glare are fairly constant until about 40 to 45 years of age, after which they increase rapidly. Following are the factors responsible:
• lens fluorescence which converts incident ultraviolet light (invisible) into scattered blue light (visible).
• yellowing of lens.
• senile miosis which reduces target illumination at the retina and adds to scatter from the edge of the pupil.
• "subclinical" lens opacities.
2. Cataract - Glare sensitivity is markedly increased in cataract compared to normal eye, even when adjusted for age, visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Glare is related to the degree of diminution of vision in case of nuclear and cortical cataract but not in posterior subcapsular cataract where it is disproportionately higher. Glare increases as the cataract advances and when 80 % of the lens is cataractous the contrast drops and glare increases dramatically.
3. Posterior Chamber IOL - Glare sensitivity is higher in eyes with posterior chamber IOL when compared to normal eyes, even when the posterior capsule is absolutely clear.
4. After Cataract - Posterior capsule opacification increases glare which is improved by Nd:YAG capsulotomy.
5. Keratoconus
6. Corneal edema - Epithelial edema leads to more scattering of light and is more visually debilitating than stromal edema.
7. Radial Keratotomy (RK) - RK increases glare sensitivity especially under mesopic conditions or when the central optical zone is very small.
8. Vitreous opacities
9. Macular edema (controversial)
Measurement of Glare
I. Discomfort Glare
It can be measured under experimental conditions by having a patient adjust brightness of a light source until it reaches an ill-defined threshold of unpleasantness. However, it does not seem to have any clinical relevance or applicability.
II. Disability Glare
A conventional visual function test, usually acuity or contrast-sensitivity, is administered in the presence of a glare source. Following tests are available:
1. Miller-Nadler Glare Tester
2. Applegate
3. Eyecon V
4. Contralight Test
5. Brightness Acuity Test (BAT)
6. A simple method which the author uses is to first record the visual acuity of a patient using Snellen's chart and then repeating the same while shining a bright light of an ophthalmoscope or a torch on patient's eye. A drop of visual acuity of two lines or more denotes significant degree of glare.
Clinical Utility
To measure visual disability in mild cataract especially:
• decreased vision outdoor in bright sun.
• visual disability with night time driving.
To distinguish decreased vision because of anterior segment pathology (media opacity) from retinal pathology. Glare sensitivity is markedly increased in anterior segment disease but is unaffected in retinal disorders. Glare sensitivity tests are more sensitive and more specific for anterior segment pathology.
Glare Recovery Time
It is a measure of the speed with which the visual system regains function following exposure to bright light. Factors and diseases affecting light and dark adaptation will affect glare recovery. This is used to predict predisposition of a patient to retinopathy.
To conclude, glare is an important factor in visual disability with anterior segment disease and sensitivity tests are useful in evaluating the visual problems of a patient with early cataract. It also forms a convenient and non-invasive method of differentiating anterior segment pathology from retinal disease. Glare recovery time is useful in predicting the possibility of development of retinopathy in diabetics.
Last update: 30 June, 2007 |
Worldwide Wedding Traditions by Country
Wedding Traditions by Religion & Culture
Earth Centered
Native American
Orthodox Christian
Roman Catholic
Native American Wedding VasesA wedding vase is traditionally used by Native American couples in the Southwest but it is being used increasingly by couples everywhere drawn to the culture’s spirituality and reverence for nature, the earth, and the environment.Sea and Sky Wedding vase by Geraldine Vail, Navajo Indian ArtistDuring the ceremony each person drinks from a spout to symbolize both individuality and unity. The Sea and Sky Vase is one-of-a-kind, (shown on the left) hand etched and hand painted in New Mexico. It measures 8″ tall and is signed by the artist Geraldine Vail, a Navajo Indian.It is important to know that these vases are made to hold liquid for a very short period of time. The vase should be emptied and dried promptly after the ceremony and should never be used as a vessel for liquid which will destroy the vase.
Would you like to share your wedding tradition? If so, please email to
Where Did That Come From?
Did you ever wonder why the groom is “supposed” to carry the bride over the threshold? What does the saying “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” mean?
You would be surprised how some of these traditions and sayings originated:
In the Jewish wedding ceremony, the groom places the ring on the bride’s index finger, and not ring finger; the ring is usually moved to the ring finger after the ceremony.
The wedding shower originated with a Dutch maiden who fell in love with an impoverished miller. Her friends “showered” her and her groom with so many gifts that they could forego her missing dowry.
Lucky is the bride who marries in old shoes.
Why “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”? The “old” was usually a personal gift from mother to daughter, a symbolic piece of wisdom for married life. “Something new”symbolized the new family formed by the couple. “Borrowing” is especially important, since it is to come from a happily married woman, thereby lending the bride some of her own marital bliss to carry into the new union. Blue has two traditions: Pagan Roman maidens wore blue on the borders of their robes to denote love, modesty and fidelity, while Christians associate it with the purity of the Virgin Mary.
The custom of carrying the bride over the threshold stems from the same belief that aroused the idea of runway carpet and strewing the aisle with flowers and petals. It was an ancient belief that the newly married couple was very susceptible to evil spirits. By carrying the bride and supplying a protective layer between the floor and bride, she would be protected from the ground monster.
The Jewish Chuppa canopy offered a sanctuary from evil spirits.
The kiss that seals the wedding is much more than a sign of affection. It has long been a token of bonding – the exchange of spirits as each partner sends a part of the self into the new spouse’s soul, there to abide ever after.
An old Scottish belief for good fortune: A bride should be met at the door after the wedding ceremony by her mother, who must then break a currant bun over her daughter’s head.
If a cat sneezes on the day before a wedding, the bride will be lucky in her marriage.
A young bride always wore her hair long and loose as a sign of her youth and innocence. |
What is Arthritis and How Can You Fight It?
Hand Bones and Arthritis
Photo via iStockphoto.
As an orthopedic surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. DeAngelis specializes in Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery. Please know that this blog reflects his thoughts and opinions only, and should not be taken as medical advice. Health concerns should be discussed with your medical provider.
Some 50 million people in the United States — 1.2 million in Massachusetts — have arthritis. Indeed, for every ten people who read this blog, at least one will have joint pain and limited motion due to the effects of joint disease. But what is arthritis and how does it happen?
In the spirit of keeping things simple, let’s start with some definitions: arthritis is a disease of the joints, and a joint occurs anywhere two bones meet. To help the joint move smoothly and painlessly, there is a layer, almost a cushion, of protective cartilage on the end of every bone called articular cartilage. You know what it looks like: it’s the white cap you’ve eaten around on the end of a chicken wing.
When a joint is healthy, the cartilage is thick and smooth, and it does a wonderful job of protecting the bone and allowing us to move comfortably. Looking inside a joint, as we might during arthroscopic surgery, articular cartilage is firm, but compressible, like a hard boiled egg. The surface of the articular cartilage is very, very slippery — rubbing two pieces of it together is seven times more slick than rubbing two ice cubes together! — so there is very little friction within our joints when they’re healthy.
In the medical world, arthritis is the loss of that cartilage, which can happen for any number of reasons. If you visit the doctor because of joint pain, you may be asked to get an x-ray. When you look at the image, you’ll notice that air is black and bones are white. You won’t see the cartilage, because that doesn’t show up on an x-ray. What you will see is that there’s a space between the bones. That space is filled with your cartilage, and as the cartilage wears away over time, the space becomes smaller.
At some level, we all have some arthritis. Using your body over time tends to cause some wear and tear on your joints. There are some things that may lead to worsening joint disease. Individuals who’ve had a bad fracture, for instance, may injure a joint and go on to develop post-traumatic arthritis. Recurrent sprains, torn ligaments, dislocations, and prior surgeries greatly affect the health of a joint. Some people can just develop wear and tear damage on their joints, resulting in osteoarthritis, or OA. In special cases, people may have a problem with their immune system that leads to chronic inflammation in the joints. This is rheumatoid arthritis, one of the family of inflammatory arthritides. Additionally, some people are genetically predisposed to arthritis. In this way, arthritis may run in families.
To keep your joints healthy, you should try to stay physically fit. Being active in and of itself does not necessarily mean that you will develop severe arthritis or wear out your joints — and fitness brings direct benefits that can help with arthritis. After all, the lighter you are, the easier it is on your body, and for every one pound of weight you carry, your knees see three when you’re walking. Going up and down stairs, your knees can experience as much as seven times your body weight. So having strong and flexible muscles helps to move your body efficiently and lightly, absorbing energy while you move and giving you the strength to walk around easily. For this reason, good mix of aerobic and anaerobic exercise may help to keep you moving for as long as you like. After all, the cardiovascular benefit of walking three miles and running three miles is the same. |
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